Indian cricket legend Jhulan Goswami on Friday said she will not be surprised if the impact player rule, implemented in this year’s IPL, is introduced in the domestic circuit for women from the next season and eventually, in the Women’s Premier League.
The impact player rule has heavily influenced this year’s IPL since as many as 16 matches, or 26 innings, have witnessed scores of 200 or more being recorded, with the count of boundaries and sixes also increasing.
“The rule has definitely enhanced a lot of things. As team management, you can pick when you want to use a batter or a bowler. Hopefully, in the coming year, we will see the same rule in the domestic season for women’s cricket also. I will not be surprised if that rule is implemented in the coming season,” said Goswami in an interaction organised by Jio Cinema.
“First, you have to implement it in domestic cricket and then in the other tournaments so that players can understand what the rule is. In the future, WPL will definitely see the impact player rule,” said Goswami, who won the inaugural WPL this year as Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach and mentor.
Goswami opined the form of Rohit Sharma is not a concern for the five-time winners Mumbai Indians.
“I don’t think Rohit Sharma’s form is a concern. He has not fired, but still, Mumbai Indians won its last game quite comfortably. We know what Rohit Sharma can do, he is one big game away,” she said.
“As a unit Mumbai Indians have (also) not bowled well, but its batters are competing, and have scored runs in (almost) each game. The batters have tried to compensate for that, this is how the game is played,” Goswami added.
Goswami said Lucknow Super Giants will certainly miss its regular captain KL Rahul, who on Friday ruled himself out of the IPL as well as the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against Australia.
“LSG will miss their captain. The way he handled the team was brilliant. He used his bowlers well, and the way he batted, people say his strike rate is lower, but he played according to his role. It is unfortunate that he got injured,” Goswami said.
The legendary fast bowler termed Mohammad Shami, IPL’s leading wicket-taker this year, as the best seamer the country has ever produced.
“He is preparing well, he is out and out the best seam bowler India has ever produced. He is doing well across all formats, but there cannot be a comparison — everyone’s physical ability is different. As a bowler you have to prepare well to minimise the injury risks,” she said.
Goswami said Jofra Archer will need some more time to get into his rhythm.
“Jofra is coming off a long layoff from injury. The more he will play, he will return to his rhythm,” she said.
“Whenever I returned post an injury layoff, the possibility of getting injured again and hampering the season would be in my mind. That is something, which can also affect performance, but you cannot always go by someone’s strike rate or economy or wickets. It is also about how comfortable one is while bowling, or how much pace is he generating.” Goswami opined that flat pitches have also contributed to plenty of scores in excess of 200.
“The wickets this season have been pretty flat. Batters are playing through the line and getting maximum results from it. Every team looks well-prepared. A lot of batters are in the power-hitting mode, earlier only one or two would play such a role,” she said.
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