How the 'Impact Player' rule could have changed India's fate
Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli (Source: OneCricket)
The IPL 2023 will see a new rule being implemented by BCCI, the rule of 'Impact Players'. This has already been tested by BCCI in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The rule states that each team will have to announce four substitutes before the toss of a match. During the match, one of these four players can substitute one player from the playing XI and can do his part of batting or can bowl his complete quote of overs.
This new rule is expected to add a new dimension to the most popular format of cricket. It will test the captains and the team management on how they utilise this rule. What type of strategic influence it has on the match will be the biggest point of curiosity for the followers of the game.
Let us try and see how this new rule can impact a T20 match. For this, we will take the example of a match, and try to see how an 'Impact Player' could have affected the result of the match.
The Semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 (India vs England)
Yes, the match that I have selected is not an IPL match. But in the recent past, this is a match to which Indian cricket fans will painfully relate. The first reason for selecting this match is the fact that cricket followers across the globe accepted that there was something amiss in India's selection of playing XI for the match.
Match Scenario
The toss was won by England and they invited India to bat first. India had a slow and unsteady start to their innings and only by the courtesy of Hardik Pandya's fiery cameo (63 off 33) along with a steady Virat Kohli knock of 50 off 40 balls, they were able to reach a total of 168 runs in their 20 overs.
In the chase, England did not lose a single wicket and reached the target in just 16 overs. The English opening duo of Jos Buttler (80 off 49) and Alex hales (86 off 47) had no trouble in facing the Indian bowlers whatsoever.
India missing the trick
In the match, India decided to go with Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel as their spin duo, despite having the option of Yuzvendra Chahal in their squad.
But why speak of Chahal?
Chahal is a wrist spinner and Englan's wrist spinner, Adil Rashid bowled 4 overs in the match, conceded just 21 runs and picked up a wicket. Moreover, Liam Livingstone was used as a wrist spinner by Buttler and in his 3 overs, he just conceded 21 runs.
On the other hand, the Indian spin duo bowled 6 overs conceding 57 runs in them without picking up a wicket. The sole reason that came out from the Indian management behind Chahal's exclusion was the better batting abilities of Ashwin and Axar.
Yuzvendra Chahal, the Impact Player
First of all, Chahal was the joint-highest wicket-taker for India along with Bhuvneeshwar Kumar in 2022 before the start of the World Cup. So, this shows that he was in good wicket-taking form.
Secondly, Chahal has played along with Buttler for Rajasthan Royals and would have known a thing or two about the batter. If he would have picked up Buttler's wicket, who knows that could have been the turning point of the match.
Third, the pitch that day demanded Chahal's style of slow and traditional spin bowling. Axar and Ashwin bowled with a flat trajectory and provided the pace for the batters to work with. Chahal is the opposite bowler to this, he flights the ball, bowls slow and looks to deceive the batter on length.
Fourth, while all the Indian bowlers were going on the defence, Chahal might have been India's attacking option for the match.
So, in hindsight, if we think about it, if India substituted Chahal for a batter at halfway stage and used him, the result could have been different or at the least, we would have seen a more competitive match.
Effect on IPL (The Pros and Cons)
Every new thing will come with its pros and cons and so does this new rule. It will allow the skipper to have more dynamism in their squad, but on the other hand, they will have to be wise in using their substitution. It will take some time to incorporate it within the thinking capacity of the captains and the team management. But be ready to witness both sides, while there will be some masterstrokes, you may also witness some blunderous substitutions.
 "Probuddha Bhattacharjee")
