Rahul Dravid's honest assessment on IPL's Impact Player rule, Rajasthan coach says ‘It adds complexity, wasn’t fond…'

The Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has garnered divided opinions from quarters of the cricketing fraternity. A nightmare for the bowlers, the impact player rule has been a part of the IPL for the past three years and will continue to do so at least till 2027, despite negative feedbacks from some of the big names in the sport.

Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid agreed the Impact player rule has made the game competitive but has also brought problems along with it. While it has given the batters a upper hand, the all-rounders were majorly hit by the impact player rule.

Rahul Dravid, who is currently the head coach of Rajasthan Royals, stated the impact player rule makes the game more complex. “It has certainly added a different dynamic,” Dravid was quoted as saying to Sportstar. “I'll be honest: when I was India's coach, I wasn't particularly fond of the Impact Player rule.

"Not because it doesn't make the game more competitive – it certainly does. It adds complexity and keeps matches alive till the very end. But from a national team perspective, it posed some challenges. The scoring rates have increased due to teams having an extra specialist batter.”

“This means no team is ever truly out of a game. You can have a batter at No.8 or even No.9, which allows for aggressive hitting even after losing six or seven wickets,” he added.

Impact player rule - Good for all-rounders?

With the impact player rule, the teams can have an extra batter when the situation demands, thus making it more challenging for the bowlers. But most, it diminishes the role of an all-rounder in the game, which Dravid highlighted.

“As a coach, you want to develop all-rounders, and under the old 11 vs 11 format, certain players would have had more opportunities to bat or bowl in different situations. The Impact Player rule has changed that to some extent. While having an all-rounder still brings balance, teams can now manage without one if they don't find the right fit,” he added.

What is an Impact Player rule?

Introduced in the IPL in 2022, the basic concept of impact player is to have an extra batter or bowler per team according to the match situation. The rule has allowed the teams to use their impact players more tactically.

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