IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma ‘not a fan’ of Impact Rule, says 'you are taking out so much from the game...'

India captain and a five-time champion with Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma, has come out publicly calling out the ‘Impact Player rule’ in the IPL as something that is taking away a lot from the game or just a little excitement. A former MI skipper is the first high-profile player to admit that ‘he doesn’t like’ this new rule introduced the previous season.

Impact Rule in the IPL helps teams to bring in a 12th player at any time during the game, substituting with the player of their selection - a rule somewhat similar to Super-Sub introduced and later removed from international cricket during the mid-2000s.

Rohit feels this rule has cut down the impact of all-rounders in the game, arguing that it holds back their development, as this game is played with 11 players, and not 12, at the international level.

“I generally feel that it is going to hold back [development of all-rounders] because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12 players," Rohit said on the Club Prairie Podcast, co-hosted by Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan. 

“I'm not a big fan of impact player (rule). You are taking out so much from the game just to make it a little entertainment for the people around. 

“But if you look [at] genuinely just cricketing aspect of it…. I can give you so many examples - guys like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl, which for us [India team] is not a good thing,” the India captain continued.

His comments come weeks before the 15-man squad selection for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, starting June 1. While Shivam Dube has knocked on the selectors’ doors with his stellar performances this season (playing for CSK), he still hasn’t bowled this IPL season. 

It mounts pressure on the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee that is contemplating naming Hardik Pandya on the team sheet for the marquee event only because he hasn’t bowled enough in IPL 2024. 

Moreover, spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are other names discussed for the 20-team-tournament. 

Although he is Rohit is criticising the new rule, he said he doesn’t have a solution for its substitute.

“I don't know what you can do about it, but I'm not a fan of it, honestly speaking,” he said. 

"Because there's obviously 12 players for you to select from and whoever that impact player is, you can see how the game is going and change it later depending on what you need, what pitch is behaving. 

“If you bat well if you don't lose wickets, you can add another bowler, so it gives you an option of having six or seven bowlers. You don't need that extra batter because a lot of the teams actually upfront are batting well, and then you hardly see Nos. 7 or 8 coming to bat,” the MI great concluded.