Sourav Ganguly calls for continuation of Impact Player rule in IPL but suggests interesting modification

The Impact Player rule has not gone down well with some current players and coaches.

During the recently held IPL 2024 season, India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed his reservations over the ‘Impact Player’ rule, citing that it is holding back the all-rounders. Since then, a lot of current and former players have joined the bandwagon in support of Rohit.

The Impact Player rule was introduced in IPL 2023. Under this rule, each team can name as many as four substitute players along with their playing XI at the toss. One of them can replace a member from the original XI during the match and the player will be called Impact Player.

Amid the debate, former India captain and Delhi Capitals’ director of cricket Sourav Ganguly has called for the continuation of the Impact Player rule in the IPL. However, he prefers that teams make their own decisions at the toss.

Ganguly also hoped that the boundaries would be pushed even further in future IPL tournaments.

"I like the impact player rule. My only thing with IPL is that I just want the grounds to be a bit bigger. The fences should go a little behind," Ganguly told the media on the sidelines of the International Procurement and Supply Chain Conference organised by the Blue Ocean Corporation in Mumbai.

"It is a great tournament. The only thing you can do with the impact player is decide before the toss, so it's a bit of skill there.

"So, have the impact player revealed before because that will require a lot of skill and game plan. But, I am all for the impact player," he added.

Ganguly extended his support to Prithvi Shaw, who endured a poor IPL season, saying that he is still a young player and getting used to the shorter format.

"He (Prithvi Shaw) is a young kid. He is just 23. He is still learning how to play T20 cricket. He is a very fine talent and he will get better. Sometimes, we expect too much too early from everyone and I am sure Prithvi, with the skills he has, he will do well," he stated.

According to Sourav Ganguly, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant regained his old mojo in the IPL 2024 after recovering from a horrific car crash.

"He was superb for us (DC) in the IPL. I was so happy to see the way he came back, because I have always said that he is a special player," Ganguly said. "Even earlier, I have said that he is exceptional. You don't want such talent to be lost for such disastrous reasons (accident). He has really worked hard to get back to where he is and he is the Rishabh Pant of old."

(With PTI Inputs)