Ravi Shastri in favour of the Impact Player Rule

The Impact Player rule in the Indian T20 League has not sat down well with a few current players and coaches, but ex India coach Ravi Shashti is on the side of it, saying it has led to numerous thrilling finishes in the tournament.

The Impact Player [rule] is good. You have to evolve with the times," Shastri said in R Ashwin's Youtube interview. "You know, it happens in other sports as well. It's got tighter finishes. You have to evolve with the times and I think it's a good rule. You saw the number of tight finishes we had in last year's Indian T20 League. So, you know, it has made a big difference."

While some- including India’s skipper Rohit Sharma- believe that the rule is inimical to the development of all rounders, Ashwin mentioned the example of Dhruv Jurel, who started his Ind T20 League career as an Impact Player in the 2023 edition and went onto to make his Test debut for India inside a year.

“You know when any new rule comes in, there will be…people will try and justify why that's not right," Shastri said. "But in time when you see the scores - 200 and 190 - and then like you mentioned individuals grabbing that opportunity and making the most of it, people will start re-looking at how they think about it."

Indian Cricket Board secretary, Jay Shah, last week said that the Impact Player rule is “not permanent” and that a call on its use in later editions of the T20 event will only be made after thorough discussion with stakeholders following the showpiece event in 2024 (T20 World Cup)

"Impact Player is like a test case. We have implemented it slowly. The biggest advantage of it is that two Indian players are getting a chance [in each game], which is the most important," Shah had told reporters at the Indian Cricket Board headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday. "We will consult with the players, franchises, broadcasters [and take a call]. This is not permanent [but] I am not saying that it will go.

"[We'll see] if it's making the game more competitive or not. Even then, if a player feels that this is not right, then we will talk to them. But no one has told us anything yet, so it will be decided after the World Cup."

Rohit was the first notable Indian player to criticise the rule, which came into the Indian T20 Leaguein 2023 after being trialled in the domestic circuit (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20), permitting sides to bring in a 12th player at any instance in a match in place of a player from the original XI at the coin toss.

Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar of the Delhi franchise were among the other players to speak out against the Impact rule.

Delhi's head coach Ricky Ponting, however, had said he was happy for the Indian T20 League to retain the Impact Player rule if it was making the competition a “better spectacle”.

But from his outlook he wasn’t too keen on the rule, calling it a “nightmare”.