Every IPL has something which is spoken a lot about. Most of it remains till that particular edition of the league itself, however some of the things remain the talk of town even after significant amount of time. The impact player rule is one such thing which is highly spoken about from the previous edition of IPL. Right since it's introduction, to inception and now it's implementation a lot has been spoken about it. The rule implemented from the previous IPL has drawn a lot of flak from few and has gained support of few others. But the question still remains on whether the impact player rule is really impactful, or is it a failed experiment which has affected the game severely?

To answer this question we need to first understand that why this rule was brought into implementation at the first place, and whose idea was it. The rule was firstly brought into implementation in the Big Bash League, when the Australian cricket experts decided to make the game more interesting by adding a substitute player to the team. On similar lines of the substitution in football, the rule was implemented with the only difference being the number of substitutes being restricted to just one. The additional player in the squad would potentially mean a team could play with 7-8 specialists batters, and still have 4-5 specialist bowlers without damaging the player number to 11.

And with the unique thought of doing so, it was implemented in BBL. Although it didn't quite turn our to be that successful, it did the job of garnering the attention of all the cricket lovers and franchise leagues. And the effect of it was a lot of leagues and boards starting to take this rule seriously, out of which one of the boards was BCCI. Thinking that it would make all the matches interesting, the addition of this rule was announced by Jay Shah when the draft was made for IPL 2023. Although many applauded the same, a fraction of people raised concerns about the same back then. BCCI thought about this rule to be a game changer and hence went ahead with it, and it quite seriously turned into a game changer.

The effect of impact player on the game was evident from the fact that high scoring totals became a new normal. The addition of a new batter severely changed the dynamics of batting, as any team wasn't now afraid to lose quick wickets as they knew that an extra batter is yet to come. And then one saw a flurry of high scores and tons of sixes being hit out of the park. On occasions of spinning wickets and bowler friendly pitches, the bowlers made merry out of it and restricted the team to extremely low totals. A case of extremes of either higher end or lower end was witnessed as all the teams harnessed the rule to their advantage perfectly.

The outcome was enjoyed by a few fans and criticized by many others. The impact player potentially took away the importance of all-rounders. And now the teams hardly considered having an all-rounder as they had the privilege of playing an additional batter and an additional bowler. Furthermore, the impact player rule affected the psyche of players, who got habituated to it only to suddenly realize that it no more exists at the international level. The result of which was witnessed when Indian team went ahead in the WTC final with 11 men for a test match without practice, when they had a habit of playing with 12 players in the IPL which lasted for 2 months before the WTC. Impact player created a difference there, and it drastically affected the dynamics of the game, and was therefore targetted by former players.

But just like every other rule, impact player didn't only have negative repercussions, it also had a few positive ones. The advantage of having an extra player in a team meant that a total of 10 more players were getting a chance which otherwise wouldn't have happened. A total of 120 players played the matches, instead of 110, meaning that technically it was not 10 but 11 teams playing the game. Many unknown names got a chance to play and showcase their true potential. It was because of the same impact player rule due to which Dhruv Jurel and Prabhsimran Singh got a chance to play. Dhruv made the most of the chance he got, and eventually landed up a well deserved place in Indian test team, where he greatly excelled. His example is a testament to the fact that impact player rule is not as bad as it seems.

So the question still remains on whether the rule is a boon or curse. The answer to it now becomes simple after understanding all the above mentioned factors. The rule is certainly a curse knowing that the match ends up either heavily favouring the batters or bowlers to the extreme. And it's a boon considering the newer talents it gives a chance to play. The ideal solution to it is to keep the rule intact the way it is going, while avoiding the shorter boundaries and batter friendly wickets. This way the game won't favour one department. And secondly, but most importantly, the impact player rule should be excluded from the IPL editions which lie just before any ICC tournaments, like WTC or 2024 T20 World Cup, as it may then act against the team.

If the above mentioned things are followed, then the impact player rule will serve its purpose greatly. And then it can certainly be termed as a successful experiment, which turned into a boon for the Indian cricket. And then what Ravi Shastri said about the rule would make complete sense. And if it doesn't happen, then the impact player rule will be a curse on most of the occasions. Today, when Indian stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli talk about the impact player rule in a negative light, they mean exactly the same things mentioned above. If the necessary changes are done, then impact player might also end up revolutionizing franchise cricket, which certainly everyone wishes to see.

What are your views on this rule?