The IPL (Indian Premier League) is the largest and most well-known franchise cricket tournament all over the world. However, many fans have criticized the implementation of a rule that was added two years ago. Now that the IPL has begun, I’d like to give a fresh perspective on what this rule could bring to the sport, and how it could potentially change Indian cricket forever.
The rule that was introduced last year was the impact player rule. It essentially allows a team to remove a player of your choice from the match, and then bring another player in. Because of this, teams can bring in an extra batsman or bowler. In IPL history, all-rounders have often been the most expensive players to bid for, because of how versatile they are in terms of their contributions. But with an extra bowler or batsmen, all-rounders aren’t as necessary. With only 20 overs to bat out, teams can now take no more risk, knowing that even if a few of their batters get out they can always bring in an extra batter. Add this to the fact that Indian cricket grounds are small and made for batting, and we get a cricket environment that has made things really difficult for bowlers. This has been made evident in the last two IPL seasons. In 2023, there were 36 matches where teams scored over 200 runs, and this increased to 41 in 2024. The largest shock, however, was that the 2024 IPL saw seven instances of teams surpassing the 250-run mark—a feat that had occurred only twice in the previous 17 years of the tournament!
With the ever-rising number of young and aspiring cricketers, an open environment for the sport is crucial. It is expected that a lot of young players will prioritize getting into the IPL over making it to the Indian squad, simply because of the higher salaries. But with the impact player rule in place, the emphasis is no longer on all-rounders, but on strong batters and bowlers. However, because this rule isn’t in place at an international level, it is possible that the Indian team will struggle. Rohit Sharma addressed this issue, saying that the rule hinders the development of all rounders and makes it feel like the sport is played between 12 players instead of 11. He stated: “I am not a big fan of ‘Impact Player’, you are taking out so much from the game just because of a little bit of entertainment for people around.”
My personal opinion is that the rule isn’t effective, and should be removed. While I believe that the Indian cricket board initially added this rule to make matches more interesting, I think that it has been a very one-sided rule. Michael Hussy made a similar comment, stating that while the games became more fun to watch, they can be very intimidating from a bowler’s point of view. T20 cricket was always about hitting sixes and slogging, and now the impact player rule just makes the game further even more favored towards batters, and increasingly unfair to bowlers.
Overall the impact rule has its pros and cons, but I believe that its negatives outweigh the positives. If nothing changes, the impact player rule could create a new era in franchise cricket, and could potentially spread globally. Only time will tell whether the BCCI will acknowledge these difficulties for bowlers and all-rounders, and alter the rule, or remove it altogether.
