The Indian Premier League (IPL) has revolutionised cricket in many ways and its Impact Player rule has been adopted by other leagues around the world.
Introduced in 2023, the Impact Player rule essentially works like a substitution in football.
However, unlike the traditional substitution rule within cricket, the Impact Player is used purely from a tactical standpoint and can bat or bowl in a match.
What is the Impact Player in the IPL
The Impact Player rule allows each team to name five additional substitutes as well as their playing XI.
Following the start of the match, each captain will get the opportunity to nominate any one of the five substitutes to replace a member of the original playing XI during any breaks in the match.
These breaks include; the start of an innings, the end of an over, the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter.
The Impact Player is allowed to bowl his full quota of overs, irrespective of how many overs the player he is replacing has bowled in the match and the player who is replaced is prohibited from playing any further part in the game.
However, if the XI already contains the maximum four overseas players, then the Impact Player has to be Indian.
In 2023, Chennai Super Kings bowler Tushar Deshpande became the first-ever Impact Player used in the IPL when he replaced Ambati Rayudu in a season opener against the Gujarat Titans.
