IPL 2023: The Institution of Impact Player Rule

image-lddkqqx1Gujarat Titans after winning IPL 2022 (iplt20.com)

The Prologue

The introduction of an Impact Player during the match is a new tactical weapon bestowed by BCCI to the IPL teams. The impact player rule basically implies that a player can be introduced during the innings to replace any player from the initial XI to leave a specific impact; as the title defines itself. 

The rule was first implemented in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by the Board of Cricket Council of India in a kind of beta test before mainstreaming it in the upcoming IPL season. The cricket masterminds must be analysing the probable impacts of the rule and rolling out tactics to make this weapon lethal in cricketing terms. 

Let us dive deep into this while first understanding a bit more about the rule.


Impact Player Rules’ Gist

  • Impact Player can be any player but the constraint of 4 overseas players shall not be exceeded in any case. BCCI has stuck with this limit since its inception to promote Indian talent.
  •  The impact player can only be introduced from the 4 substitutes designated with the playing XI at the toss.
  • Only one player can be introduced as an Impact Player and the replaced player shall be discarded to participate in any capacity in the match forthwith.
  • Impact Player can only be introduced till the 13th over of the innings, i.e. before the start of the 14th over.
  • The Impact Player rule does not supersede the Substitute rule including Super-Sub. Both are mutually exclusive and will be applied individually.


Institution of Impact Player in Batting and Bowling scenarios-

Batting

  1. Before the start of the innings.
  2. After the completion of an over.
  3.  After the fall of a wicket.
  4. After the retirement of a batter during the over.


 Bowling 

  1. Before the start of the innings.
  2. After the completion of an over.
  3. After the fall of a wicket albeit after the completion of an over.
  4. After the retirement of a batter during the over, albeit after the completion of an over.


The Dissection cum Analysis

  • The player who can make an impact in the match a.k.a. the Impact Player is to be selected from designated substitutes but the pertinent thing here is, if that player can be such impactful would he deserve to be excluded from the playing XI in the first place?
  •  The Impact player rule can be advantageous to those teams that have segment specialists such as power-play specialists, slog-over specialists or those players which are part of the team because of their specific talent only, although not many teams possess ample of such options.
  • Another area which the new dimension may light up is that an Underperforming player can be replaced; as such all the teams stay in pursuit of the best XI wherein a few fine players miss out in every match, who can become a replacement for an underperforming one.


The Greys

BCCI has already rolled out the rule in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wherein the technicalities seem to have been analysed but a few grey areas still exist such as-

  • Can the Impact player be vice-captain or stand in captain even for one ball?
  • Can an overseas player be switched with another overseas player as impact player, considering only 4 of them take the field at a time?
  • What is the reason behind restricting impact player’s introduction after 13th over?


Evidently, the very rule is being considered as a new strategic weapon, but is it really a new tactical weapon or just an additional entertainment branch? The cricket masterminds of every franchise must be devising strategies to utilise the rule at the best in every scenario; and with the sea of talent that IPL is, the only permutation that comes to my mind is Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment.

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