The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to introduce a 'impact player' regulation in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.Effective from this season, the impact player will allow the participating teams to replace one member of its playing XI during a T20 fixture.According to a note issued to the state teams, which Sportstar has seen, the BCCI said, "The concept is to allow one substitute player per team to take a more active part in a match. This would add a new tactical/strategic dimension to the game. A number of team sports allow teams to make tactical substitutes i.e. football, rugby, basketball, baseball. The substitute is allowed to perform or participate like any other regular player."
Taking a leaf out of the Big Bash League, BCCI took the decision to make the format interesting ‘not only for the viewers, but also for the participating teams from strategic viewpoint’.For now, this will be experimented only for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season and it needs to be seen how teams react to the new rule. There is a possibility that going forward this rule could be introduced in the Indian Premier League as well.As per the note, the State teams will have to decide whether or not to have an impact player. But if they wish to field one, the 'Impact Player' can be introduced in the match any time before the completion of 14th over of either innings in a match. After the introduction, the new player can bat and may bowl a full allotment of four overs.
