Impact Player rule negates the role of all-rounders, bits and pieces players: Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said 'world class' allrounders would still have a role but not someone who bats at say No.7 and is expected to bowl an over or two

DC Coach Ricky Ponting speaks on side's performance against LSG. (BCCI/IPL)

The introduction of an Impact Player to replace any one cricketer in the Playing XI during an Indian Premier League (IPL) game will reduce the role of all-rounders in the team, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said during a promotional event on Friday. For example, a team may use a specialist batsman or a specialist bowler depending on the match situation. A team which has finished bowling and is chasing a huge target has the option of replacing a frontline bowler with a specialist batsman in the second half of the game.

“You don’t need to pick all-rounders now because you can name a batting or a bowling-heavy team and just take one out and bring the other in. Unless they’re absolutely world-class and they’re getting picked either as a batsman or as a bowler, and not as a bits-and-pieces player then I don’t see many teams this year use the guy that might bat at seven and bowl an over or two,” Ponting said.

He also added, “The fact that we found out about the impact player rule post auction as well… you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. I think if we would’ve known about it before the auction, we might have looked at it in a slightly different way. It is what it is.”

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According to the rules, an impact player can be picked from the five substitutes. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has increased the strength of the playing squad to 16 for this season’s IPL.

An Impact Player can be introduced “(i) before the start of the innings or (ii) after completion of an over or (iii) in case of a batter, at the fall of the wicket or the batter retiring at any time during the over. Furthermore, the bowling side can also bring in an Impact Player during the fall of a wicket, but he will not be permitted to bowl the remaining balls in the over if the wicket has fallen mid-over.”

“It’s actually quite confusing, to be honest,” Ponting admitted. “To just work through the whole range of different ways that we can use some of these players as far as the impact rule is concerned, we’ve got a bit of work to do.”
The Impact Player rule was first used during the Big Bash League.

Rahul Pandey

Rahul Pandey is Senior Sub Editor on the Sports Desk of The Indian Express. Based out of New Delhi, he primarily writes and talks about cricket and football. You can also find him while surfing through The Indian Express YouTube channel, where he hosts the video offerings from the sports team. Working with the online team on the daily developments in world sports, Rahul holds a keen interest in dissecting the personalities of the game's many protagonists as well as tracking the big picture trends that affect the game. He started out as a sports radio jockey and previously worked with cricketnews.com, creating content offerings for The Bharat Army, Betway and LiveScore. His passion for sports was kindled by his father's tales of tuning in to radio for keeping tabs on India's Test cricket tours as well and FIFA World Cup finals. ... Read More

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