Delhi's young spinner Hrithik Shokeen became the first impact player on the opening day of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2022. Delhi team management got their impact player strategy right the first time as his three-wicket haul helped beat Manipur by a huge margin of 71 runs.
Shokeen made his SMAT debut on October 11. Earlier this year, he had grabbed attention after making his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 debut for five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI).
Shokeen bowled a total of three overs while defending 168 against an inexperienced Manipur batting lineup. The spinner conceded just 13 runs from three overs he bowled and took the wickets of skipper Langlonyamba Keishangbam (3) and Johnson Singh (11).
Manipur used their impact player as well in the batting department. The gamble did not pay off as Ahmed Shah scored just 12 runs from 18 balls as Manipur managed to post 96/7 after 20 overs.
Shokeen was substituted for Hiten Dalal. The opener scored 47 runs from 27 deliveries including seven fours and one six.
For Manipur, the replaced player was Bishworjit Konthoujam who took the wickets of Yash Dhull (24) and Ayush Badoni (20) but ended up conceding 43 runs in his quota of four overs.
What is impact player?
Before the match, the teams have to name four possible candidates for impact player substiutions. According to the situation, only one of the four can be used. The impact player substitution has to be called before 14 overs are bowled in an innings. There is no cap on the number of overs a substituted bowler can bowl. Also, the impact player can bat anywhere.
While impact player can be a handy strategy, its use is not mandatory. However, before introducing the impact player, the on-field umpire needs to be informed by the captain or head coach or the manager of the side. There is one situation when impact player cannot be used. If a game is reduced to less than 10 overs per side, then the impact player cannot be used.
