Aaron Finch and S Badrinath had contrasting opinions on Impact Player rule. However, Finch agreed with Rohit Sharma’s recent outrage at the rule.
The Impact Player rule is making the waves in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League. The rule which was introduced last year has been under the scanners as Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also recently pointed out its drawbacks. He stated on the ‘Club Prairie Fire Podcast’: “I’m not a big fan… It’s going to hold back all-rounders. Cricket is played by 11, not 12.”
The Impact Player Rule allows one substitute player per team to take a more active part in a match. The substitute can replace any player introduced at any time before the completion of the 14th over of either innings in a match. He is allowed to perform or participate like any other regular player.
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The rule was introduced in the last season but after analysing it with time, franchises have started using it well in their favour this year as we have seen several 400-plus combined total games in just the first half.
The Impact Player rule has made things easy for IPL franchises in terms of tactical decisions as now they have the privilege of having an extra player which they can choose according to the situation of the match. However, it turns out to be a boon and bane for the players.
A young player like Ashutosh Sharma has been getting constant opportunities this year as a lower-middle order batter for Punjab Kings being the Impact Player. It has worked well for his franchise and for him too in terms of getting attention through his brilliant performances but without the Impact Player, it would have been tough for a player like him to get so many chances due to team combinations and experienced players getting a nod over him.
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However, at the same time, it might have impacted someone like Shivam Dube – an all-rounder who has been in incredible form with the bat but he is not getting any chance to bowl for Chennai Super Kings. Dube has been used by his franchise very efficiently as an Impact Player but that has put doubts over his place in the T20 World Cup squad.
Former India cricketer and two-time IPL winner with CSK, Subramaniam Badrinath asserted that the Impact Rule is a positive thing in terms of getting another player an opportunity to display their talent on the big stage.
“I see the Impact Player as a very very positive thing purely from a perspective that instead of 11 players getting an opportunity, another player is getting an opportunity to showcase his skills that is what is all about. It brings in a more tactical perspective to the game,” Subramaniam Badrinath replied to Hindustan Times’ query on Star Sports Press Room.
Meanwhile, the former CSK star also gave his honest take on whether the rule is affecting a player like Dube and suggested that the franchise is using it well to get the desired results
“If Shivam Dube can bowl well he can still be on the field but there is some other better bowler or a better fielder who gets an opportunity that’s the reason probably Shivam Dube is not there, he has been given a very-very specific role – a middle over specialist, in the middle-over he comes in when there are slow bowlers are on, spinners are bowling, that’s where he is the both effective but with ball in hand and on the field there are some other players who are much more effective and they are getting an opportunity to be on the field at that point,” Badrinath explained.
The former cricketer further talked in support of the rule.
“I think the Impact Player is a pretty positive thing, of course, it has made it hard for us broadcasters, for captains giving a little bit more headache but I think it is only positive because another player is getting an opportunity to be out there and showcase his skills,” he added.
Meanwhile, during the same discussion, former Australia T20 World Cup-winning skipper Aaron Finch completely disagreed with Badrinath’s views and said that it is making things easy for the captain and taking the tactics out of the game.
“I totally disagree. I think that for a captain, it’s made their job so easy. So when you’re picking a team generally, unless you’ve got a gun all-rounder, you will either have a hole in your batting because you’ll have someone batting at seven that maybe isn’t up to that role. There might be number eight then he has to fought up or you pick four bowlers and try and use them as your all-rounders to get your fifth bowler in. So then tactically on the field, you have to be so good at managing when you’re when you’re able to use them, you’ve got to find small chinks in the opposition’s armour to be able to get through your 20 overs easily,” Finch said.
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Finch pointed out that it’s good for the run-scoring and entertainment aspect of the game but tactically it is just making the captain’s job very easy in the tournament.
“Now, as a captain, you don’t have to think because you’ve got seven or eight genuine batters and you’ve got five, sometimes six, genuine bowlers. So I think it takes the tactic side out of it. Yeah, it’s been good for the game in terms of run-scoring and entertainment because guys are just going out and smacking up with not really any repercussions because they’ve got so many batters behind them,” he added.
However, Finch agreed with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s recent outrage at the rule and said that it doesn’t work the same in international cricket.
“But I think from an overall game, I agree with what Rohit Sharma said about the all-rounder. If you’re playing International Cricket, you need an all-rounder or you’re left with six batters in your tank,” he added.
The former Aussie skipper made a strong point that it will pigeonhole the young Indian all-rounders in the big tournament as IPL as now teams have the liberty to chose a specialist batter and a specialist bowler in place of all-rounder who might be a slightly inferior in one of the department.
“So you’re just I think you’re taking that opportunity away from some particularly young India all-rounders, that they get pigeonholed because maybe their battings are not good enough to be in the top six, maybe their bowling is not good enough to be in the first four bowlers but as a package, that might be really good. But they just get left behind because there’s no need for them anymore,” Finch said.
While Badrinath concluded by giving the example of Ashutosh Sharma and how he got massive attention through his performances because of the introduction of the Impact Player rule.
“I am just mentioning guys like Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma getting an opportunity. We might not have seen probably Ashutosh not heard of him. For Indian domestic players, it’s a big boon,” he concluded.
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