Ravichandran Ashwin has batted for the Impact Player rule to continue in the Indian Premier League highlighting the strategic value it adds to the game.
The Impact Player rule, which was introduced in IPL 2023, allows a team to use 12 players instead of the traditional 11. A team can swap any player, bowler or batter, at any point during the game with another player, to effectively make use of the services of an additional player.
“Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” Ashwin said on Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube channel.
“The other side of that argument is that it doesn't encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them. In this generation, they don't do it [batters bowling and vice-versa],” reasoned the Rajasthan Royals star.
“It's not like [the all-rounders] are discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. There's an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer,” he continued.
The introduction of the Impact Player helped the Royals to bring out talents like Dhruv Jurel, one of the early beneficiaries of the rule in IPL 2023. Coming in as the Impact Substitute, Jurel played some beautiful cameos to help the Royals’ cause.
Those valuable knocks brought Jurel into national reckoning as he made his debut for India in the Test series against England earlier this year.
“Most importantly, Dhruv Jurel… If not for the Impact Player rule, he may have never gotten the chance,” Ashwin pointed out. “So the emergence of a lot of players has happened. I'm not saying that's the only way for players to emerge, but it's not so bad,” Ashwin highlighted.
