R Ashwin Backs Impact Player Rule Against Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Others for IPL 2025

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Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he feels it enhances “strategy” in the game. 

The Impact Player rule became a hotly debated topic in IPL 2024, with discussions revolving around its consequences and application. 

Since it came into play in 2023, teams have taken advantage of their lengthy batting line-ups, which has led to a number of high-scoring encounters. 

However, many players, including Indian captain Rohit Sharma and other major names like Virat Kohli, Axar Patel, and a few bowlers, have opposed the Impact Player rule and do not wish to see it in IPL 2025. 

Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, infact had expressed concerns that the Impact Player rule might adversely affect the growth of all-rounders in Indian cricket, which could be a considerable drawback for the sport in India.

Weighing in on the same, here’s what R Ashwin said 
 on Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka:

“Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy. The other side of that argument is it doesn’t encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them.” 

Referring to Venkatesh Iyer as an example, Ashwin added:

“In this generation, they don’t do it [batters bowling and vice-versa]. It’s not like they’re discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he’s currently rocking for Lancashire. There’s an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer.” 

R Ashwin Points to Shahbaz Ahmed as an Example

To justify his point, R Ashwin used Shahbaz Ahmed’s example, who came in as the Impact Player for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and secured a match-winning performance against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2. 

“Sunrisers brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player, he went on to become a match-winner. When dew has the potential to make games one-sided, teams bowling second get an extra option as a counter. If you’re batting second, you can tactically make a substitution by offloading the extra bowler for a batter,” added Ashwin.

Shahbaz Ahmed, coming to bat at No. 8, helped SRH recover from 120/6 and led them to a competitive total of 175/9 in 20 overs. Later, he also registered impressive figures of 3/23 in four overs as SRH beat Rajasthan by 36-run and qualified for the final. 

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