The IPL 2023 will see, for the first time in the tournament’s history, the Impact Player rule being added wherein a substitute player can take an active part in the game after a tactical substitution.
Earlier this month, the IPL confirmed that this new rule will come into effect from IPL 2023, which is slated to start in the last week of March.
This new rule will also force the franchises to think slightly differently in the IPL 2023 mini-auction, which is set to take place on Friday in Kochi.
This ‘Impact Player’ rule was first introduced in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament earlier this year on a trial basis and the feedback the BCCI received was very good after which the board approved this rule to be implemented in the IPL 2023.
The BCCI said in its letter to the franchises, “Note that from IPL 2023 Season a tactical/strategic concept will be introduced to add a new dimension to IPL, wherein one substitute player per team will be able to take a more active part in an IPL match.”
This rule will offer teams a great deal of tactical flexibility that the management can use to strengthen their team performance by making changes based on the situation and the opposition.
Teams will be allowed to name 4 substitutes apart from the playing XI and any one of these 4 could be used as the ‘Impact Player’.
In the SMAT, the Impact Player could replace any member of the starting XI at any point before the end of the 14th over of either innings, and was allowed to bat and bowl his full allotment of overs.
How will this Impact Player rule change the tactics of IPL franchises for IPL 2023 auction?
Now that any player can be substituted out and in from the XI, franchises can go into the auction and buy players specifically for different phases of the game.
Franchises can buy both new-ball powerplay specialist bowlers and also death overs specialist bowlers in the auction, and then replace the former with the latter in the game after the former has bowled in the powerplay.
For example, Mumbai Indians have already acquired the services of new-ball specialist Jason Behrendorff via a trade from RCB. Now they would be happy to get a death overs specialist in someone like Chris Jordan in the auction. This would allow MI to have both Behrendorff and Jordan bowl in the same match without breaking the 4 overseas player rule.
Another example is say a team can start the match with an off-spinner to bowl to the opposing left-handed opener. After the off-spinner’s role is done – with success or not – he can be pulled out and the bowling team can introduce a pacer who can bowl in the middle and death overs.
Further, if a team loses few wickets in their innings until the 14 overs and feel they don’t need a long batting lineup, they can replace a spare batsman with an extra bowler. Or if they lose early wickets, an extra bowler can be replaced with a batsman.
Basically, batters or bowlers who perform their best in different phases of the game will attraction the IPL franchises in the auction, and would then get playing time which otherwise they wouldn’t have.
