Former India cricketer and IPL captain Ajinkya Rahane hit out at the contentious impact player rule in the Indian Premier League, advocating for the rule to be taken out. Rahane joined the chorus of several cricketers criticising the rule for reducing the growth of all-rounders in Indian cricket, calling it of no use. “I think it should be taken out,” Rahane, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the league, told Cricbuzz. “I remember last year, before the IPL captains’ meeting, most of the captains said they don’t want the impact player rule. And I think the guidelines or the rules, they have it till 2027. So we don’t know if this year they will take it out or after this year (when) the big auction is coming up, in that they will take it out. But ideally, I feel there is no point or use in having an impact rule,” he added. The rule has also been hampering the growth of all-rounders in Indian cricket as franchises tend to replace batters with bowlers and vice-versa to get the best possible result with the bat or the ball.
Hardik Pandya’s absence from the Indian team has often found the Indian team searching for cover-ups, and although Shivam Dube and Nitish Reddy have turned up, they are still far from Hardik’s capabilities. Moreover, there seem to be not many all-rounders in the pipeline, especially the fast-bowling all-rounders, which has been a rarity now in Indian cricket. “All-rounders are going out of the game, especially in the IPL. And I am a firm believer that you’ve got to develop your all-rounders. From the Indian team’s point of view, all-rounders are really important. So the impact player rule should be taken out. “See, why I feel we should take it out is because last year, I don’t want to take any team’s name, but a few teams were probably at 90/7, 100/7, and they ended up getting 200 because of that one impact (rule), one extra batter with that. So, I feel (we should) give some advantage to bowlers, and also all-rounders should be involved in the games thoroughly. They should take it out,” he added.
