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Rahul Dravid shares his thoughts on Impact Player rule

The incumbent head coach of Rajasthan Royals, Rahul Dravid, sharing his thoughts on the Impact Player rule in the IPL, has expressed that he wasn’t fond of the rule when he was India’s head coach. The impact player rule, which was brought into effect in IPL 2023, enables a team to replace a player from the starting eleven and bring in a specialist batsman or bowler according to the match situation. While Dravid acknowledged the tactical aspect of the rule, he also underlined the challenge it poses to the progress of the all-rounders.
“It has certainly added a different dynamic. I'll be honest: when I was India's coach, I wasn't particularly fond of the Impact Player rule. Not because it doesn't make the game more competitive – it certainly does. It adds complexity and keeps matches alive till the very end. But from a national team perspective, it posed some challenges,” Dravid told Sportstar.
“As a coach, you want to develop all-rounders, and under the old 11 vs 11 format, certain players would have had more opportunities to bat or bowl in different situations. The Impact Player rule has changed that to some extent,” Dravid said.
Dravid also maintained that this rule has made matches more competitive.
“Statistically, scoring rates have increased due to teams having an extra specialist batter. This means no team is ever truly out of a game. You can have a batter at No.8 or even No.9, which allows for aggressive hitting even after losing six or seven wickets.”
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