Reference at the time of writing this article: IPL 2023 Playing Conditions.
The “Impact Player” rule in IPL 2023 has attracted a lot of attention. This rule provides an opportunity for a team to replace any nominated player who is a part of the playing XI with another player for tactical/non-tactical reasons. An interesting point to note is, replacing a nominated player through the impact player route is not the only route for a player replacement. There are two more ways in which the replacement of players from the nominated playing XI is possible. All three methods have their own replacement policies. Let us read through to know about all of them in brief only to the extent of appreciating the existence of all three policies with respect to IPL.
Before we read further, let us keep in mind that at the time of writing this, the Impact Player rule is present as a part of IPL 2023 only.
1. The Impact Player rule is the latest rule addition to the playing conditions of IPL 2023. Under this rule, the team can completely replace a player who is a part of the playing XI during the game. The impact player must be from the substitution list declared initially. A team has only one opportunity in the game to exercise this option either while they are batting or while they are bowling. Once a player is replaced, the replaced player takes no further part in the game. The impact player enters the game with a special provision that is different from other forms of replacements which will be covered later. That special provision is the ‘The Provision to Start Afresh’. According to this, the impact player can bat even if the batter who has been replaced is already dismissed, or can bowl the full quota of overs even if the bowler who has been replaced has completed the overs quota as an individual. Even though a batter comes in as an impact player to replace a batter who has already completed the innings, at no point in time 12 batters can come into bat. Similarly, if a bowler comes in as an impact player to replace a bowler who has already completed the individual overs quota and is permitted to bowl the full applicable quota of overs as an individual, at no point in time do the bowling limit criteria for the team is relaxed. As it has been mentioned above, this freedom of starting afresh is not applicable to the two other modes of replacement.
The choice of an impact player to be selected from the declared substitution list does not require any other approvals either from the opposing captain or from the match referee/umpires. Intimation to the umpires is only necessary because the timing of permitting replacement has certain restrictions. Getting in an impact player while batting is possible only after the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter. Getting in an impact player while bowling is possible only after the end of an over-under normal circumstance. However, while bowling, it is still possible to get the impact player during the over if a wicket falls or a batter retires during the over. While bowling, an impact player can also be brought in during the over if the bowler gets injured or suspended from bowling during the over, but once brought in the player is not permitted to complete the over which is interrupted due to injury or suspension of the bowler.
Another key point is, an impact player must be an Indian Player only unless the number of overseas players in the original playing XI is less than 4. At no point in time, 5th overseas player takes the field.
2. The Concussion Replacement rule lost its place as the latest replacement rule with the introduction of the Impact Player rule. This replacement policy is available to both sides in case any nominated player or impact player gets concussed during the match, and replacement through this mode is not limited to only one replacement per game. There are no timing restrictions under this policy in terms of at what point can a concussion replacement be introduced. However, concussion replacement requires approval from the Match Referee and does not require any approval from the opposing captain. This policy comes with a critical rider called “Like-for-Like Replacement”, which is not a required criterion neither under the Impact Player rule nor under the Conventional Replacement policy which will be discussed next.
The special provision existing under the Impact Player policy of ‘Provision to Start Afresh’ is not applicable under the concussion replacement policy. Here, the concussion replacement player can bat only if the innings of the replaced player due to the concussion have not ended or been completed. In the case of bowling, the concussion replacement player can bowl only the remaining number of overs left in the quota of the replaced player.
3. The Conventional Replacement rule is the oldest of the replacement policies present in cricket. In IPL, after the nomination, each side has the option to replace any player till the time of the start of the first innings of the game, but only with the consent of the opposing captain. In this mode of replacement, neither Match Referee nor Umpires plays any role in terms of approving or not approving. As the replacement takes place before the start of the first innings of the game, the replaced player continues with the game absolutely normally like any nominated player for the game.
All these replacement policies, the roles of replaced player, and the player coming in as replacement are irreversible changes. Some of these are considered strategic moves and some are necessities. Knowing all the provisions of replacing a player can make the entire experience of watching the game much more interesting.