Will the Impact Player rule be persisted with? It has divided opinion since its inception in 2023, and ahead of the 2025 season, the IPL governing council will take a call.
The rule got backing from Zaheer Khan, the former India fast bowler, who was unveiled as Lucknow Super Giants team mentor on Wednesday. “I’m going on record to say that I’m for it,” said Zaheer at an LSG press conference in Kolkata. “It has definitely given opportunities to a lot of uncapped Indian talents. That is something you will see 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 matches, it’s something you cannot beat. That’s the biggest plus.”
There’s a school of thought that the Impact Player rule has negatively impacted the development of Indian all-rounders. Zaheer has a different take on this. “As far as all-rounders are concerned, right now, there is no space for a half (half-baked) all-rounder because of the impact sub. But if you are a genuine all-rounder, no one can stop you. There is always going to be a value addition with the ability with bat and ball.”
Zaheer’s comment came on the heels of Ravichandran Ashwin explaining why the IPL shouldn’t discard the Impact Player. “Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” the off-spinner said on Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s YouTube show Cheeky Cheeka. “The other side of that argument is that it doesn’t encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them.”
Ashwin added: “In this generation, they don’t do it (batters bowling and vice-versa). It’s not like they are discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he is currently rocking for Lancashire. There’s an opportunity for innovation, and it makes the game fairer.”
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
“Will try my best to take it to the next level,” says @ImZaheer on joining @LucknowIPL as the mentor.
“We want a winning approach, and Zaheer has exemplified that,” adds @DrSanjivGoenka.
Shashwat Goenka echoes the same sentiment.
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— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) August 28, 2024
The Impact Player rule allows a team to use a substitute player, from a list of four, as per the side’s requirements. For example, a team batting first can use seven specialist batters before bringing on a specialist bowler, by subbing a batter, when they bowl.
Some high-profile players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have criticised the rule, although IPL chairman Arun Dhumal threw his weight behind it, when he spoke to RevSportz on the eve of this year’s IPL final. According to sources, the rule is unlikely to be done away with.
‘Rahul is family’
Meanwhile, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka played down his recent meeting with KL Rahul, although he remained coy over the team’s retention strategy and the captaincy issue.
“I have had meetings with KL from time to time over the last three years,” Goenka said. “Don’t know why so much talk over this meeting. KL is an important and integral part of the Supergiants family.”
As regards to retention and captaincy, he said: “Still enough time to decide. Everything has to be very well thought-out.”
The IPL is likely to announce the retention policy for the 2025 mega auction in the first week of September. Franchises will have time until November to decide.
Coming back to Zaheer and LSG, Goenka mentioned how he and Zaheer have been in sync with many cricket issues and the franchise’s future, and that everything worked out quickly. The team mentor post at LSG fell vacant, after Gautam Gambhir made a switch to Kolkata Knight Riders after the 2023 IPL season.
As RevSportz earlier reported, Zaheer, who has 610 international wickets, would be looking after the team’s bowling department, while head coach, Justin Langer, will concentrate more on the batting unit.
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