All-rounder Axar Patel became the latest India cricketer to criticize the Impact Player rule in the IPL on Monday. He responded bluntly, “I don’t like it,” and then insisted that it hinders the development of all-rounders.
The Impact Player rule, which permits teams to replace any player in the starting lineup with one of the five designated substitutes at any time during the game, has been criticized by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. It will remain in place until at least 2027, having been adopted in 2023.
In 2024, Rohit expressed his disapproval of the strategic rule, claiming that it hindered the growth of all-rounders in Indian cricket. The next season, Hardik stated that it was now too difficult to select an all-rounder for the team unless he was equally skilled with the bat and the ball.
Ahead of his second season as Delhi Capitals captain, the Indian T20 vice-captain also shared his thoughts on the regulation in response to a question about it.
“I don’t like this rule as I am an all-rounder myself (laughs). Earlier we used to pick all-rounders for this role (batting and bowling). Now team management goes with a particular batter or bowler, they say why do we need an all-rounder?
“Being an all-rounder myself I don’t like it but at the same time rules are rules. We have to follow them. But personally I don’t like it,” PTI quoted Axar as saying.
Compared to 264 balls in the 2024 season, Axar bowled just 204 balls in the last IPL season. He said that a finger issue that had troubled him before the IPL was the reason, not the Impact Player regulation.
“I did not bowl a lot. It wasn’t because of Impact Player. After the Champions Trophy, my spinning finger got cut. After that it got worse because of the seam of the ball. Later, it developed into a deep cut, I was not able to apply pressure and rotation on the ball. That is why I was bowling only when required and nursing my finger. After seven games, it became better and I bowled frequently,” stated Axar, who has been entrusted with leading the Delhi Capitals to their first IPL championship.
Axar became a two-time world champion in the shortest format in just eighteen months.
Despite its spectacular performance in the ODI format, an unprecedented title defense earlier this month has fueled comparisons with the unbeatable Australian squad of the 2000s. The current Indian team has been considered the best T20 team ever by some.
But according to Axar, he doesn’t think it’s appropriate to compare teams from different eras.
“It all started post 2022, we started playing this brand of cricket and took some tough calls. If this Indian team wants to dominate, we have to continue playing a fearless brand of cricket, change as per the requirement of the game at that time.
“I don’t believe in the tag of the greatest T20 team ever. It is all about time and era. If a team’s combination is set, they can do wonders,” he added.
