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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik believes the Impact Player rule should remain in place for IPL 2027, even though he feels it has reduced India’s chances of producing quality all-rounders.
Karthik has argued that removing the rule before the end of the current IPL cycle would be unfair to teams that have built their squads around it. While he believes the rule has gradually lost its importance, he wants the BCCI to wait until the current cycle ends before making any changes.
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The Impact Player rule was introduced in IPL 2023, following the mega auction for the 2022 season. The next mega auction took place in 2025, with the current cycle running until 2027.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Karthik explained why he believes the rule should continue for another season, despite his concerns about its long-term impact on Indian cricket.
Dinesh Karthik Explains Why Impact Player Rule Has Lost Its Charm
The Impact Player rule was introduced to make IPL matches more competitive and give teams greater flexibility. According to Karthik, it helped produce high-scoring contests in the early stages, with teams regularly chasing big totals.
However, he feels the excitement surrounding the rule has reduced over time, with fewer closely fought matches during the latest season.
“When it first came on (Impact Player rule), it was very good because there were high-scoring games and there were a lot of teams that were almost chasing it down. But strangely, this last season, there were not too many close games.
“It just felt like one team scored a lot, and another team ended up chasing it down. And if you look at how the impact player rule has impacted the IPL, it was quite positive at the start. But slowly but steadily, it started losing the charm and the reason why it was there,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Impact Player Rule Hurting India’s All-Rounder Production?
While the rule gives teams an additional tactical option during a match, Karthik believes it has also affected the development of all-rounders in India.
With teams able to bring in an additional batter or bowler depending on the situation, the need for players who can contribute in both departments may have reduced.
“It helped make the game more high-scoring than what it was. But it definitely decreased the chances of India as a cricketing country producing all-rounders,” he said.
Despite these concerns, Karthik does not want the rule to be scrapped before IPL 2027. He believes teams have selected their players and planned their combinations based on the existing system.
Why Karthik Wants The Rule To Stay For IPL 2027
Karthik explained that removing the Impact Player rule now could create an uneven playing field. Some teams may be better suited to playing with 11 players, while others may have built their combinations around the option of using a 12th player.
He believes such a change should not be introduced midway through the current cycle.
“But what I wouldn’t want is it to be scrapped for this season because teams have been picked with having an impact player in mind. So it makes a lot of sense.
“When you pick a team, you’re picking a team based on 12 players that you’re going to play. Now suddenly if you make it 11, there could be a team which is obviously not as strong as a 12 but much better as an 11, and it is an unfair advantage, and it’s something that they could do away with after the end of this season.
“But in general, I do feel it was quite good at the start, but right now it’s losing the relevance and importance that it probably provided for the fans and for the players as well,” he added.
Dinesh Karthik Wants IPL Rules Changed Only At The End Of A Cycle
Karthik also stressed that the BCCI should introduce new rules at the beginning of an IPL cycle and review them only after that cycle ends.
He pointed out that the Impact Player rule itself was introduced between two mega-auction cycles. In his view, removing it before the current cycle concludes would follow the same approach he believes should be avoided.
“But I just feel that, as a rule, whatever new rule you want to bring in, you need to bring it in at the start of a cycle and do away with it at the end of a cycle if you don’t want to (continue). First of all, this impact player rule was brought in in between and then to do away with it in the middle of one, I don’t think makes sense. That’s all I would say,” he added.
