Introduction of new rules to take excitement level in IPL to a new high

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The Super Sub rule in international cricket, which was disbanded after being experimented with for only nine months in the mid-2000s, is making a return in the IPL in the name of Impact Player for this year. Spectators on the ground and television viewers will get used to seeing a new signal by the bowler end umpire when he crosses his arms above his head to indicate the introduction of the Impact Player.

The Impact Player rule is one of the three major rules that will be introduced in the 16th edition of IPL, which has already seen new elements introduced in the earlier editions including the Strategic Time Out (2009) and the Play Offs (2011).

The other two to be introduced this year are the extended use of DRS to waist-high No Balls and Wides, and the naming of the playing 11 and five substitutes after the toss, unlike the traditional exchange of team lists at the toss.

As per the new playing conditions, “Both teams can use one Impact Player per match. It is up to the teams whether they want to use the Impact Player. The Impact Player should be one of the five nominated substitutes. A player who is replaced with an Impact Player, shall not take any further part in the match including acting as substitute or carrying drinks on the field.”

With a maximum of four overseas players allowed in the playing 11, the Impact Player has to be an Indian. However, if the playing 11 has less than four overseas players, the Impact Player can be an overseas player.

This is to ensure that, “At any point in time, there shall not be more than four overseas players on the field of play, including substitutes.”

The playing conditions state that the Impact Player can be introduced by the batting side at the start of the innings, at the fall of a wicket, or on retirement of a batsman. If a retired batsman has been replaced by the Impact Player, the former shall not participate in the match any more. Thus, for the retired batsman, the match is as good as ended, similar to the player who has been replaced by Impact Player ― the former will not play in the match any further.

By the fielding side, the Impact Player can be introduced at the start of the innings, at the fall of a wicket, or at the end of the over. “If an Impact Player is introduced at the fall of a wicket, he shall not be allowed to bowl till that over is completed. The Impact Player can bowl his full quota of four overs in an uninterrupted game even though the player whom he had replaced had bowled his quota of overs. If a fielder is injured and is replaced by an Impact Player, the injured fielder shall not take any further part in the match.

“If a bowler is incapacitated or suspended during an over and is replaced by an Impact Player, the Impact Player shall not be allowed to complete that over. The incapacitated or suspended bowler shall not take any further part in the match. However, the Impact Player shall be allowed to bowl his full quota of overs,” say the playing conditions.

The Impact Player is supposedly meant to “add a new tactical dimension to the game”, according to the IPL Impact Player Regulations. This is similar to the ‘X-Factor Player’ that was introduced in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) in 2020, though they are different in many ways.

As per the X-Factor Player rule, each team is to nominate its 12th or 13th player on the team sheet to the fourth umpire. He can come into the game after the 10th over of the first innings and replace any player who is yet to bat or has bowled no more than one over. The X-Factor Player can bowl a maximum of four overs even if the player he has replaced has bowled one over.

In the Impact Player rule, he can be introduced at the start of the innings, at the fall of a wicket, or at the end of an over, and will be nominated to either the fourth umpire or the on-field umpires.

The recent Legends League Cricket in Doha saw the Impact Player being introduced ― Pravin Tambe, in one match, replaced Pragyan Ojha as an Impact Player for the India Maharajas against World Giants after Shane Watson and Aaron Finch treated him with disdain. The move paid off as leg-spinner Tambe went for only 17 runs and took two wickets, removing both Watson and Finch, in his four overs. For the record, Ojha’s figures read 2-0-42-0 before being replaced by Tambe.

However, there are questions to be answered with regard to the Impact Player in the umpiring circles. The umpires will have all their questions answered as to the implementation of the Impact Player rule at a seminar conducted by the BCCI on April 27.

A former international umpire told Moneycontrol.com, “There is still a lot of confusion on the Impact Player rule. You are going in with 12 players instead of 11, with only 11 to bat. While naming the Impact Player, you have to take the conditions into account. BBL used the X-Factor Player rule, as a strategic ploy. You can replace a player who should not have batted or has bowled no more than one over. Whereas, in the Impact Player rule, you can replace a bowler who has bowled full four overs or a batsman who has already batted. For example, if you have Chris Gayle out cheaply, you can replace him with another hard-hitting batsman as Gayle’s role in the match is finished after he is out.

“The idea of X-Factor Player in BBL was to strategise; you plan after assessing the conditions. With Impact Player, what is there to plan or strategise since you can replace a player with an Impact Player even when one ball is remaining in the match?”

The inaugural Women’s Premier League saw DRS also being used for Wides and No Balls above waist height. IPL will also see this being used for the first time.

As it is, technology has taken over a majority of the powers from the on-field umpires. With this new introduction, the human element is waning. The batsman can question the umpire who has not given a Wide or a bowler can review the Wide if the umpire has not noticed the ball brushing the back side of the batter down the leg side. Such reviews of No Balls and Wides can make all the difference between a win and a loss, when there is so much at stake for the teams in the IPL, which is valued at $8.4 billion as of last year.

The Wides and No Balls are judgemental calls by the umpire on that particular day.

Former Indian women’s cricket all-rounder Smitha Harikrishna, who was closely following the WPL, said, “You are taking away the human element from umpiring. It is coming to a stage where you are taking away everything from the on-field umpires. After all, the data fed for the use of technology is being done by a human being. If, for instance, he feeds the wrong data, as seen in odd cases in international matches, or the sequence is reversed like the ball hitting the pad first and then the bat for LBW when the real action was the other way round, the purpose of using technology is defeated.”

As regards nominating the playing 11 plus the five reserves after the toss, it gives the teams the chance to make the odd change depending on whether the team is batting or bowling first, which otherwise was impossible earlier.

IPL, as always, takes the excitement level up a few notches with each edition. And with the introduction of the new rules, it will be no different this year too.