The Impact Player concept, which is all set to be introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the IPL 2023, will most likely apply only to the Indian players participating in the marquee tournament, as per Cricbuzz. BCCI officially confirmed the introduction of the Impact Player rule a few days ago. Cricbuzz reported that the Impact Player concept could apply only to the Indians.
The board has not yet shared any rules and regulations on how will the concept work. However, BCCI managers, who are in touch with IPL teams, have indicated that only an Indian player could come in as a substitute player. Reportedly, the decision to not allow the overseas players to be used as the impact players has been made to make sure that only four foreign players are taking part in an IPL game.
The concept of the Impact Player was introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022 and it received positive feedback. The concept used in the Indian Premier League (IPL) could be very similar to the concept trialled during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The Impact Player rule allows teams to bring in a substitute player in place of any member of the starting XI. Teams taking part in a match will be required to submit the names of four substitutes at the time of toss and teams can only make a change in their playing XI by bringing in a substitute from the list of four players.
Also, the Impact Player can only replace any member of the starting XI before the end of the 14th over of either innings and the player who has been replaced will no longer be allowed to participate in the match. The Impact Player rule is not applicable when the game is reduced to less than 10 overs per side.
