Gujarat Titans had made an impressive 204 for 4 against the Kolkata Knight Riders and Suyash Sharma came off with a spell of 4-0-35-1, a reasonable figure in a high-scoring match. When their turn came to bat, the KKR replaced Suyash with Venkatesh Iyer under the Impact Player rule that is in vogue from the IPL 2023. Iyer made a force tilting 83 off 40 balls as the Knight Riders etched a last ball victory.
It was one of the instances in the IPL 2023 when a team exploited the Impact Player rule to the hilt. But there is another side to it as well when a team fails to get the best out of this innovation.
Lucknow Super Giants had brought in Ayush Badoni as the Impact Player in place of Avesh Khan when they needed 44 runs from 26 balls to win, an eminently achievable target these days in T20s.
But Badoni, who uses angles and crease well to score his runs, could not kick on as the Chennai Super Kings bowlers shackled him with an outside the off stump line, and LSG lost a game that they could have won.
Impact Player rule a hit or a miss?
The IPL 2023 is gradually hurtling towards the mid-season table and heated discussions are still going about the necessity of an Impact Player, which in effect has altered the basic texture of cricket — from 11 vs 11 to 12 vs 12.
But if you have followed T20 cricket, this is not precisely a first of its kind innovation. The Big Bash League (BBL) had flirted with this idea under the guise of X-Factor Player, a term coined by Trent Woodhill.
But the BBL teams did not embrace the idea very enthusiastically and eventually it was scrapped ahead of last year’s edition. Alistair Dobson, the GM of BBL, had cited lack of positive impact as reason for abandoning the X-Factor Substitution after two seasons.
Mixed opinions on Impact Player rule
The IPL 2023 is about three weeks old, and the team captains and players have voiced mixed reactions to this rule so far. For Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans captain, the Impact Player rule has given a problem of plenty.
“To be very honest, having this impact rule makes my job quite difficult because when you have too many options, you have to pick the right option, and I think because of this reason, someone will bowl less,” Hardik said.
Hardik’s point was evident in the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and LSG, which the latter won off the last ball. Veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra could bowl just two overs despite taking the wicket of Virat Kohli.
Boon for veteran cricketers
But there are a few other possible scenarios. “This Impact Player rule can work in favour of some veteran players like Amit Mishra or Piyush Chawla. On pitches that suit spinners like the one in Chennai, these experienced campaigners can come in and bowl just four overs and go off the field. I am sure teams will explore this side in IPL 2023.
“The teams can even give rest to a player without entirely omitting him from the 11. The other day, Mumbai Indians brought in Rohit Sharma as Impact Player as he could not take the field because of some bug, and Suryakumar Yadav went for the toss and opted to field. Rohit stayed away when MI was bowling, and then he came to bat in the second innings.
“Teams like CSK could even do this even without a player having a niggle. Imagine, MS Dhoni walks out only to keep wickets and lead when CSK is bowling and they can bring Ben Stokes as a pure batsman as he does not bowl much in this IPL. It is a great advantage to have for a team,” a former India coach told Free Press Journal on condition of anonymity.
However, there could be an aggrieved set of players in IPL 2023 because of the pact Player rule — the all-rounders. They have been the most sought after type of cricketers in the auction but the addition of one player allows the teams to also bank up on 1D players.
CSK has generally used Ambati Rayudu as an Impact Player in a straightforward replacement with a bowler. They are not really fretting over the absence of Ben Stokes or Rajyavardhan Hangarkekar because the Super Kings know that a specialist batter or bowler can do the job for them as per conditions.
CSK player Moeen Ali pointed this out while sympathising with the all-rounders. “I am still a bit confused as to what is the best way to use it. It does nullify the all-rounder. But only time will tell how good actually it is, particularly if you are looking to win World Cups, the all-rounders play a big role and the Impact Player nullifies that,” said Moeen.
So, will the Impact Player rule end with a layer of gravitas or will it go down as a Quixotic innovation? We will have to wait to find out as even the teams are travelling in our boat!
New rules & terms
Substitutes: Teams need to pick 4 substitutes along with the playing XI before the toss
Impact Player: Captain will nominate the Impact Player out of the 4 substitutes
DRS: Decision Review System is being used for wides and waist-high no-balls this season
Home-&-Away: The format is back in IPL 2023 after a three-year gap due to Covid pandemic
Team Sheets: Teams in IPL 2023 can make changes to their playing XI after the toss
