The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season begins next week, and there is a great deal of excitement surrounding the tournament, with opinions and predictions coming in from all over the country. The new and innovative rules that will be implemented beginning with this year’s edition will add to the excitement.
While other innovations, such as allowing teams to use the Decision Review System (DRS) even for Wides and No Balls, should help eliminate howlers, the Impact Player Rule has piqued the interest of fans.
The captain will list four substitute players in addition to the playing eleven at the toss under this rule. During the game, any of the four substitute players can be used as an impact player, coming in at the start of the innings, at the end of an over, or after a wicket falls. The player he replaces is no longer able to play in the game. If a team has already named four overseas players in their starting eleven, the impact player must be an Indian.
The umpire signal for the introduction of the impact player has now been issued by the IPL. To indicate this, umpires will have their fists clenched and their hands crossed above their heads.
This innovation has been introduced to add more creativity and strategy in-game to assist teams in making better use of their players from their respective squads.