What is the Impact Player Rule in the IPL?

The Indian Premier League, or IPL, is the biggest and most successful domestic cricket league in the world. In the league, 10 teams, consisting of top cricket players from around the world, fight for the coveted championship trophy.

In the 16th edition of the league, the IPL 2023, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced some new rules. These rules are nothing new; they have already existed in international cricket; however, this is the first time they have been introduced to the Indian Premier League, which originated in 2008. 

One of these new rules is the “Impact Player Rule.” In this article, we will take a look at the Impact Player Rule and how it will impact the league and teams.  

What is the Impact Player Rule?

As per the impact player rule, after the toss, each team is allowed to name up to five substitute players in addition to their playing XI. At any time during the game, one of them—referred to as the Impact Player—can replace a member of the playing XI. 

This rule has already been implemented and verified in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, following its adoption by the Australian Big Bash League. The rule permits teams to substitute a player during the game if it would be beneficial to the match's situation and playing conditions.

The new rule enables teams to select their playing XI after the toss, which removes the influence of the toss outcome. Team captains will no longer need to provide team sheets at the toss. They are now allowed to choose 5 players as substitutes, and out of those 5, one can be the impact player. 

In addition, fielding teams will be punished for slow over-rates at every over, creating more pressure for them to keep the pace of play brisk. The Impact Player, however, cannot be used by teams as a workaround to the limit on the number of foreign players allowed in a match. If a team is already fielding four foreign players, then the impact player must be an Indian player. However, if a team has fewer than four foreign players, they can choose a foreigner as their impact player.

During the inaugural match of the 2023 season, which took place between five-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT), both teams fielded an impact player, which led to the outcome of the match, with GT defeating CSK by 5 wickets. 

The Gujarat Titans replaced Kane Williamson, who suffered a knee-injury mid-inning, with Tamil Nadu batter Sai Sudharshan. CSK chose to replace Ambati Rayudu with Tushar Deshpande, a bowler. Experts are saying that CSK chose the wrong substitute. The team has to understand the impact rule better and choose an impact substitute that will turn the match in their favour. 

ICYMI

A historic first 👏

Here were the impact players utilised by both #CSK & #GT during Match 1️⃣ of #TATAIPL 👌#GTvCSK | @ChennaiIPL | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/OAq7NIGYa1

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 31, 2023

Cricket fans and experts alike are praising the new impact player rule and saying that this might turn out to be a game-changer for the cricket league. However, some are still confused and not at all happy about the new rule. 

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