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R Ashwin believes the Impact Player rule has brought in a strategic element into the IPL that will go away if the rule is scrapped.
There has been a lot of criticism of the rule from several quarters, including from Rohit Sharma, who isn’t a “big fan”. The big criticism is that it prevents allrounders from developing. And also that teams have started scoring bigger because of the cushion of an additional batter (if that’s the team’s choice).
“Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” Ashwin said on Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube show Cheeky Cheeka. “The other side of that argument is it doesn’t encourage allrounders. 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 cited an example from Qualifier 2 of IPL 2024 to underline his stance. “Sunrisers [Hyderabad] brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player [vs Rajasthan Royals, after hitting 175 for 9 batting first]; he went on to become a match-winner [with 3 for 23].
“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 offloading the extra bowler for a batter.
“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.”
“If a franchise has released a player because they don’t see him in their top four or five, then what gives them the right to jump in during an auction”
Ashwin on the Right to Match rule
Ashwin argued that a number of players had moved up the ranks, even into the national team, as a result of the rule. “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.”
Elsewhere, there’s a mega auction coming up. The Right to Match (RTM) hasn’t been used at IPL auctions since 2018, but the IPL is still deliberating on the retention rules for the auction and the reintroducing RTMs is one of the things on the table.
Ashwin doesn’t want it, not in its current form.
“If a franchise has released a player because they don’t see him in their top four or five, then what gives them the right to jump in during an auction,” Ashwin argued. “You give the option to the player asking if he wants to be right to matched. There should be a contract binding the two parties, which says he can be RTMed only if the price is X amount and leave that pre-determined amount to be decided by the player.”
Zaheer ‘all for’ Impact Player
Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan, too, threw his weight behind the Impact Player rule, stating that it could “improve Indian cricket as a whole”.
“There has been a debate around the impact sub rule. I’m going on record to say that I’m all for it,” Zaheer said at a media interaction shortly after being unveiled as Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor.
“It has definitely given opportunities to a lot of uncapped Indian talents. It is something you will see this in the mega auction when teams will be looking at them.
“That opportunity goes a long way with improving Indian cricket on the whole. The time spent in match time, it’s something you cannot beat. That’s the biggest plus. As far as allrounders are concerned, right now there is no space for a half an allrounder because of the Impact (rule). But if you are a genuine allrounder, (then) no one can stop you. There is always going to be a value addition with the ability with bat and ball.”
