IPL 2023 will have tactical substitutes after BCCI introduces Impact Player rule

The BCCI already implemented the rule in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that concluded last month. The rule allows a team to make a tactical substitution in the middle of the game in each match.

Tactical substitutions will make an appearance in IPL 2023. | Photo Credit: SPORTZPICS

When the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets under way next year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will introduce the concept of ‘Impact Player’ - a tactical substitution.

The Board already implemented the rule in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that concluded last month. The rule allows a team to make a tactical substitution in the middle of the game in each match.

The IPL governing council members had a virtual meeting on Thursday and there were deliberations to introduce the Impact Player concept - a move that received positive response from domestic coaches and players.

According to the rules, along with the starting XI, teams will mention four substitutes at the time of toss and use one of the four during the match. A player can replace any member of the starting XI at any point before the end of the 14th over of either innings and will be able to bat and bowl his full allotment of overs.

The Impact Player can play any role during the game, however, the Impact Player rule is not applicable when the game is reduced to less than 10 overs per side.

During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Delhi all-rounder Hrithik Shokeen was the first Impact Player as he helped his team register a 71 run-win over Manipur in a group league match in Jaipur in October.

“With the ever-growing popularity of T20 cricket, it is imperative that we look at introducing new dimensions which will make this format more attractive and interesting not only for our viewers but also the participating teams from a strategic viewpoint,” the BCCI had said in a statement to the state units earlier this year.

“The BCCI would like to introduce the concept of ‘Impact Player’ wherein participating teams could replace one member of its playing XI during a T20 match based on the context of the game,” the statement said.

A similar rule is already in place in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia. The X-Factor rule allows teams to substitute a member of their playing XI at the 10-over mark - in a full T20 game - of the first innings, and the player replaced cannot have already batted, or bowled more than one over.