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The ‘impact player rule’ has become a topic of debate in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Many feel that it gives the batting team an undue advantage and not letting the next crop of all-rounders grow. After Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Mohammed Siraj said that IPL should do away with the rule, Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar voiced their opinion against it as well.
Axar who has not scored in double digits in his last four appearances said that his batting position has been affected by the rule. DC have often used Abhishek Porel as their impact player.
"Whoever is making the rules, they are thinking that everything will work as per batter's convenience," he said. "Obviously, it has been difficult (for the bowlers). According to me, it's difficult but obviously you will have the opportunity as well that you can perform well in that situation, if you have the skills then how you can use them.
"Because of the Impact sub rule, everyone gets one more batsman so they think that they will use the batsman in case, the batting unit doesn't go well. And whosoever comes to play, they don't take much time and start (hitting) from the first ball because they know that they have a player in seventh or eighth place.
"That is why I am not a big fan of the rule, because as an allrounder I know that they will either take a proper batsman or a bowler, not an allrounder."
The spin all-rounder said that he has addressed the issue with DC's captain Rishabh Pant, head coach Ricky Ponting and Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly.
"We (Rishabh), Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and Ricky (Ponting) have talked about it. I can play early, but if you want to give the chance to a young player, then you have to give them their position, but because of that (Impact Sub rule) I have to come down the order."
Rule makes batters more fearless
Mukesh feels that the rule has made batters more fearless because of the deep batting lineup.
"If 12 players are not playing at the international level, then what is the need of it in IPL? With 12 players, even if four wickets are down, the next player is not scared of getting out or making the team stable, they come and play their shots. So either the nature of tracks should be changed or 12 players should not be allowed," he said.
Warner wants the rule to stay
Meanwhile, David Warner does not feel that there is anything wrong with the impact player rule as it helps the team make use of their bench strength according to the game situation.
"Well, the game is evolving, right? So I think people are just trying different things. If you got 15-16 people on the bench, you know you want to maximise as much as you can. Is the game going to change a lot in the next 10 years? It probably will,” the Australian opener said.
"I feel like it's taken the all-round option out now. We are adapting as cricketers, so we're enjoying that and and it's also tactically when you're sitting on the bench, you know, if you're not scoring runs, then you can put that batsman in."
DC are currently placed eighth on the points table with five losses from eight games. The Pant-led side suffered a big loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). They will go up against Gujarat Titans (GT) at home on April 24.
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