Seasoned India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels that the IPL’s ‘Impact Player’ rule has made the game fairer and added “value for strategy” in the event.
Senior India players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been critical of the rule as they feel it holds back development of Indian all-rounders and upsets the balance between bat and ball.
However, Ashwin feels the rule, introduced in the 2023 season which allows all IPL teams to substitute a player -- batter or bowler -- during their respective innings as per the demands of the match, makes the game fairer.
“Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” ‘ESPNCricinfo’ quoted Ashwin as saying on former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s YouTube show, which is in Tamil.
“The other side of that argument is it doesn’t encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them. In this generation, they don’t do it (batters bowling and vice-versa).
“It’s not like they’re discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he’s currently rocking for Lancashire. There’s an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer,” Ashwin added.
The 37-year-old backed his stance by citing the Qualifier 2 match in which Sunrisers Hyderabad replaced opener Travis Head with spinner Shahbaz Ahmed against Rajasthan Royals at this year’s IPL.
Ahmed went on to become the player of the match, claiming three wickets including Ashwin’s.
“Sunrisers brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player (after hitting 175 for 9 batting first). He went on to become a match-winner.
Ashwin argued that the rule can play a significant role in balancing matches when there is dew.
“When dew has the potential to make games one-sided, teams bowling second get an extra option as a counter. If you’re batting second, you can tactically make a substitution by off-loading the extra bowler for a batter,” he said.
“Games are tighter, an extra player is getting to play. Barring Kolkata or Mumbai, where scores skyrocketed, they haven’t been a drastic change elsewhere. Like at Punjab Kings’ home venue (Mullanpur), they were all 160-170 games.”
On the other hand, the rule has helped several players advance in their careers, even earning spots in the national team, reckoned Ashwin.
“Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Dube most importantly, Dhruv Jurel… If not for the Impact Player rule, he may have never gotten the chance. So the emergence of a lot of players has happened. I’m not saying that’s the only way for players to emerge, but it’s not so bad,” he said.
