The Indian Cricket Board is all set to introduce the concept of ‘impact player’ in the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League to add a new dimension to the enthralling cricket competition. Earlier it was reported that a team could substitute any player from their playing XI with any player irrespective of their role. But now in a recent development, the rule will only apply to the Indian players.
The Indian Cricket Board is yet to share the regulations on how it will work, however, according to reports only Indian players will be substituted during a match. According to Cricbuzz, franchises have been explained that a team cannot introduce an overseas player in place of another overseas player, nor will a team be allowed to have a foreign player in place of an Indian.
The rule is to make sure that the primary and binding Indian T20 League rule of only four foreign players taking part in a game is not diluted. Whether a foreign player will be allowed to come in if a team goes into a match with only three overseas players in the starting XI is not yet clear
In a recent note to the teams, the Indian Cricket Board said, “…Also note that from Indian T20 League 2023 Season a tactical/strategic concept will be introduced to add a new dimension to Indian T20 League, wherein one substitute player per team will be able to take a more active part in an Indian T20 League match. The regulations pertaining to the same will be issued shortly.”
Impact Player rule to have an effect on mini-auction
The Indian T20 League mini-auction is all set to take place on 23rd December in Kochi and the ‘impact player’ concept is expected to have a big impact on the franchise’s bidding.
The Impact Player concept was first introduced in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and the Indian Cricket Board is satisfied that the experiment was a big hit. The Indian Cricket Board has drawn inspiration for this from football and a few other games where substitutes play a very active role.
“The concept is to allow one substitute player per team to take a more active part in a match. This would add a new tactical /strategic dimension to the game. A number of team sports allow teams to make tactical substitutes i.e. football, rugby, basketball, baseball. The substitute is allowed to perform or participate like any other regular player,” the Indian Cricket Board had said while introducing the rule in the SMAT earlier this year.
