India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed his reservations last month over the ‘Impact Player’ rule, stating that it is holding back the all-rounders in the ongoing IPL season. 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 head coach Ravi Shastri has backed the Impact Player rule, saying that it has contributed to many thrilling finishes in IPL 2024.
"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 R Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
"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," he added.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently refused to commit to the continuation of the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League, saying it would be decided after consulting with captains and coaches.
"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," Shah told reporters at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai last week.
"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. [We'll see] if it's making the game more competitive or not. Even then, if a player feels that this is not right, then we will talk to them. But no one has told us anything yet, so it will be decided after the World Cup."
