Chennai, Aug 28: The debate over the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to stir opinions, with many not favouring the rule arguing that it affects the allrounders.
However, the latest to join the debate is veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has 744 international wickets across the three formats. He has 516 Test, 156 ODI and 72 T20I scalps. Ashwin has represented India in 100 Tests, 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is.
In a recent chant with former India opener Krishnamachary Srikkanth, who too hails from Tamil Nadu like Ashwin, the seasoned off-spinner said the Impact Player rule certainly gives a scope for better game plan.
He turned down the notion that the rule works against the all-rounders. He cited the example of Indian medium pace bowling all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer's case. Ashwin revealed that Venkatesh is excelling for Lancashire in county cricket.
The Rajasthan Royals player Ashwin, further stated that the rule does not stop all-rounders, but definitely helps teams to come out with new plans, better alternatives and strategies as per match situations.
It can be recalled that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced the Impact Player Rule in the IPL 2023 season. It was stated that the key motive of the rule was to give more chances to Indian cricketers in the IPL.
But during and after 2024 IPL, several players, owners and former cricketers criticized the rule, including Team India skipper Rohit Sharma.
Ashwin however cited another example of how Impact Players can change the complexion of a game. He mentioned that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) played Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player against his team Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL Qualifier 2 in 2024.
Shahbaz became a match-winner for SRH with a match-winning performance of 3 for 23. Similar cases can be repeated and more players can flourish through the Impact Player rule, Ashwin suggested.
