IPL’s Impact Player: Gainers, losers and India’s takeaways ahead of T20 World Cup

Flat surfaces and an increased reliance on unproven bowlers across a 10-team pool are among the reasons for the unprecedented and consistent huge totals and six-fests this Indian Premier League season. But nobody can deny that the Impact Player rule has also played a big role by allowing an extra batsman and more freedom to go on an all-out offensive throughout the innings. The rule, introduced in the 2023 edition, has been an increasingly polarising innovation in this evolution, with several bowlers following Indian captain Rohit Sharma condemning the practicality of the rule. It has also hurt the development of all-rounders, a rare commodity in Indian cricket.

The major protagonists

While the Impact Player has indeed upscaled scoring rates throughout the 20 overs, batting in the Powerplay and death overs has seen the biggest spike from the previous edition. Among the mavericks are three teams who were among the bottom four in 2023 – Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, who have rejigged their combinations.

KKR’s charge has been led by the unlikely opening pair of Sunil Narine and Phil Salt. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have formed a potent concoction up top for SRH. Aussie sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk has formed the core of Delhi’s early charge.

Even at the death, where the average runs per over this season stands at a mindblowing 12.05, rookie or out-of-favour Indian batsmen lead the charts along with overseas stars. Among the leading run-scorers at the death, Delhi’s Tristan Stubbs stands tall with a 292.30 strike rate. Among Indians, Dinesh Karthik, who last played for India at the 2022 T20 World Cup, leads with a strike rate of 231.42. Internationally retired MS Dhoni and a slew of uncapped batters like Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Abdul Samad, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma also feature in the list.

A major factor in this upsurge has been the impact of overseas batsmen and the relatively younger Indians who have bought into the attacking approach more than senior Indian players.

The average strike rate of the tournament currently stands at an all-time high, a shade above 152, a hike of more than 10 runs from the 2023 season (141.71).

What does this mean for India at the World Cup?

When India made 168 batting first in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide, they would have been cautiously optimistic. However, what followed was the harshest lesson Rohit Sharma and Indian cricket had to learn in the format. The way Jos Buttler and Alex Hales ruthlessly punished the Indian bowlers indicated the modern mindset of batsmen in the format.

Sharma and KL Rahul were severely criticised for their pedestrian batting style in the Powerplay throughout the tournament. The only player conforming to the modern way of T20 cricket was Suryakumar Yadav.

KL Rahul was severely criticised for their pedestrian batting style in the Powerplay throughout the last T20 World Cup, as was the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.

However, the introduction of the Impact Player rule has improved the batting strike rates of Indian batsmen. Since the 2022 World Cup, Sharma has been trying to lead from the front as strike rates take precedence over averages. Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya have also attempted to adapt to the new demands but haven’t managed to do so on a consistent basis.

However, the Impact Player rule has definitely benefited upcoming Indian young batsmen who have been able to unlock their range-hitting potential and imagination to play some cheeky scoops, which have not been in the traditional Indian coaching manual.

Since the inception of the rule, the modern way has also percolated into the way India has been playing T20 Internationals as well. Of late, India has kept attacking through the 20 overs. However, they would want to boost their Powerplay strike rate which still reels under 130 since 2023.

The pitfall of Impact Player rule

Apart from strike rates, the other major issue the Indian team is facing is the lack of batsmen who can chip in with a couple of overs.

“Guys like Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl, which for us is not a good thing,” Sharma recently said on a podcast.

Dube, who bowls military medium, could be quite a handful on sticky West Indian wickets. However, Chennai Super Kings haven’t needed his services so far. Mumbai Indians youngster Tilak Varma has not bowled much either.

But the biggest victim of the rule has arguably been Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Washington Sundar. The 24-year-old burst onto the scene as a reliable 4-over bowler and a handy bat down the order. However, the Hyderabad franchise could not find a role for him in the last couple of years which has dented his growth as a player.

“Every team is looking to play either a pure batsman or a pure bowler as the Impact Player, and all-rounders are not being used,” Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel would observe.

The Impact Player was introduced through the domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which has also seen changes in how part-time spinners have been utilised over the last couple of seasons.

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Riyan Parag stands as an outlier in the domestic game, having bowled consistently despite the rule. However, he has hardly rolled his arm for Rajasthan Royals over the last couple of overs.

The waning relevance of multi-dimensional cricketers will only wear down India’s progress in the format, forcing them to scramble hard to achieve balance in their XI for international games.

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