Jasprit Bumrah, who clinched his second Player of the Match award in the Indian Premier League 2024, expressed his reservations regarding the Impact Player rule. Despite his three-wicket haul that contributed to Mumbai Indians’ 9-run victory over Punjab Kings, Bumrah highlighted the team’s struggle to seal the game until the final over.
After Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah Slammed Impact Player Rule In IPL
Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh put up stellar performances for the hosts during the chase of 193 runs. Ashutosh hammered 61 runs off just 28 balls, featuring 7 sixes and 2 fours. Shashank contributed 41 runs off 25 deliveries, including 3 sixes and 2 fours.
Nevertheless, their dismissals turned the tide in favor of MI as PBKS were bowled out for 183 in 19.1 overs. Bumrah claimed Shashank’s wicket, while Ashutosh fell to Gerald Coetzee. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Jasprit Bumrah said:
“It is good to win a match but we would have liked to close it a bit earlier. But this is what happens with Impact Player rule. It gives the license to the batters to go after the bowlers. A bowler becomes half of what he actually is because of this rule,”
In a recent discussion with Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Rohit Sharma, his teammate from India and MI, criticized the Impact Player rule, stating that it’s negatively affecting Indian cricket. Speaking in the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Rohit said:
“I genuinely feel it is going to hold back the development of all-rounders because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12. So I am not a big fan of the Impact Player Rule because you are taking so much from the game just to make it a little more entertaining for the people around you. But just in the cricketing aspect of it, I feel guys like Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl, which is not a good thing for us . I am not sure what you can do about it, but I am not a fan of it.”
Rohit further emphasized that many teams are finding their batting line-up strong enough, making it unnecessary to include an additional batter in the playing XI. He said:
“It is entertaining though, as there are 12 players to select from and whoever that Impact player is, can see how the game is going and change it based on what you need, and how the pitch is behaving. If you bat well and don’t lose too many wickets, you can add a bowler, which gives you the option of having 6-7 bowlers. You don’t need that extra batter because a lot of the teams upfront are batting well and you hardly see No. 7 or 8 coming to bat,” the right-hand batter added.
