NEW DELHI: Even though several coaches and players disagree, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Impact Player rule was defended by former India coach
Ravi Shastri
, who pointed out that it had produced thrilling finales.
Shastri claimed that many of the exciting endings in the current IPL edition can be attributed to the Impact Player rule, which has been a major topic of discussion during the
IPL 2024
.
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"The Impact Player [rule] is good. You have to evolve with the times. You know, it happens in other sports as well. It's got tighter finishes. You have to evolve with the times and I think it's a good rule. You saw the number of tight finishes we had in last year's IPL. So, you know, it has made a big difference," Shastri told Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
According to the rule, a team can add a 12th player from a list whose five names are announced at the toss to the team. Depending on the circumstances, a team may substitute any player they desire for another player in the starting line-up.
"You know when any new rule comes in, there will be...people will try and justify why that's not right. But in time when you see the scores - 200 and 190 - and then like you mentioned individuals grabbing that opportunity and making the most of it, people will start re-looking at how they think about it," Shastri said.
In the meantime, Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (
BCCI
), stated that a decision about the Impact Player rule's continuation in the IPL would be made after talking with coaches and captains.
He did, however, highlight the significance of the regulation, which allows an IPL team to have two more Indian players in their starting lineup. During the IPL 2024, the Impact Player rule has generated a lot of discussion. The BCCI Secretary stated that the rule is not "permanent."
"Impact Player is like a test case. We have implemented it slowly. The biggest advantage of it is that two Indian players are getting a chance [in each game], which is the most important. We will consult with the players, franchises, broadcasters [and take a call]. This is not permanent [but] I am not saying that it will go," Shah told reporters at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
One of the main reasons for the massive scores in the IPL 2024 has been attributed to the Impact Player rule. The first well-known player to criticize the regulation was India captain
Rohit Sharma
, who claimed that it has stunted the growth of all-rounders.
"I genuinely feel it is going to hold back the development of all-rounders because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12. So I am not a big fan of the Impact Player Rule because you are taking so much from the game just to make it a little more entertaining for the people around you," Rohit said.
But, Delhi Capitals head coach
Ricky Ponting
said he had no problem with the IPL keeping the Impact Player as long as it resulted in a "better spectacle" for the league. But as a coach, he acknowledged that the rule was a "nightmare" and that he didn't like it.
However, Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler
Mitchell Starc
also claimed that the Impact Player rule was a factor in the bowlers' subpar play during the current IPL 2024 season.
"The Impact Player rule changes things a fair bit. Everyone gets to bat a lot deeper having a batting and a bowling XI. There's a lot made of that rule throughout the tournament and there's been a lot of high scores, which is the nature of the wickets and the grounds we play on here. When you have batters and batting allrounders come in at Nos. 8 or 9, it's a long batting line-up," Starc, who has conceded runs at 11.37 so far, had said.
(With ANI inputs)
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