All sports rely on the players and teams to apply strategies and outplay their rivals. Most of the game plans are drawn in the locker room, while some of them are done through the course of the match.
Cricket goes along with this as well. Winning involves a lot of planning and preparation when it comes to the other team.
In 2023, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a new approach to the match tactics through the introduction of the Impact Player rule in IPL.
What is actually the Impact Player rule? And how does it carries on functioning?
This is a review where the Impact Player rule used in the IPL is examined.
Impact Player Rule in the IPL
The Impact Player is like a tactical substitution wherein the player replaced can take an active role in the game, not only with the bat but also with the ball. Such tactical substitutions were already in place in other sports like football and basketball.
The aforementioned rule is contrary to the normal substitution rule that permits a substitute player to perform fielding only during the game. Nevertheless, teams can apply the Impact Player rule once only in an IPL match.
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How Does the Impact Player Rule Work in IPL?
The Impact Player has the power to substitute any other player from the playing XI at any time during the match. However, the teams are not allowed to use any player as an Impact substitution.
After the toss, each team is required to hand in their playing XI along with the names of the 5 substitute players. Any of the 5 substitutes can be chosen by the teams to be the Impact Player.
Now, let us go through an example to understand the rule more clearly.
If a team is chasing a huge total, they can reinforce their batting by bringing in a batter as an impact sub. The team can replace a bowler with the lowest batting skills and bring in the batter.
In the same way, a team can use one of its batters and a bowler, taking advantage of the bowler’s skill at crucial times during the batting. The bowler is allowed to bowl the full quota of 4 overs.
When can a Team Bring the Impact Player in the Match?
The teams can bring in the Impact Player at select moments throughout the game. The impact sub can be introduced at the moment –
- before the start of an innings,
- after an over,
- when a batter is out or has retired
Once the impact sub is on, they can either bat or ball. But if a bowler is subbed in at the fall of a wicket or when a batter retires during an over they won’t be allowed to bowl the rest of the over. However, the bowler will be allowed to start bowling from the next over.
Can Teams Bring in Overseas Player as Impact Player?
Yes, but teams will have to comply with a strict rule.
If a team plays 4 overseas players in the starting line-up, then they will not be able to introduce an overseas player as an impact substitute. This is according to the rule that allows a maximum of 4 overseas players per team in a match.
Nevertheless, if they begin with 3 or less overseas players, then they can call in an overseas player as the Impact Player.
