BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has finally spoken about the controversial impact player rule that has been used in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the past two seasons. The rule has received a lot of criticism from star international players like Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Siraj.
Jay Shah also shared his views on retaining players for the IPL season and mentioned that the opinions of the franchises are divided on this aspect.
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Jay Shah finally breaks silence on Impact Player rule
During an interview with TOI, Jay Shah was asked about the impact player rule. Shah mentioned both the advantages and disadvantages of the rule. He accepted that the rule might not be very good for the growth of budding all-rounders but also added that it gives a talented Indian player a chance to prove his talent by being an additional player in the team.
“We had a long discussion with the franchise owners in the meeting we had recently. The impact player rule has its pros and cons. The negative is that it makes the role of the all-rounder redundant. The positive is that it creates a space for an Indian player to showcase his talent,” said Jay Shah.
“We also have to think about the television channels, which pay a lot of money. But for me, as an administrator, the game is more important. We will decide in a few days,” he said, adding that the point of view of the channels will also be important.
Pros and cons of the impact player rule
The role of all-rounders is reduced by the impact player rule, as teams have the option of bringing in an additional player who can either hit or pitch. As a result, teams have been hesitant to give young, inexperienced all-rounders opportunities to showcase their talent.
On the other hand, teams like Punjab Kings have benefited from this rule. This season, Punjab played Ashutosh Sharma as an impact player and he put in a number of impressive performances for them. Ashutosh turned out to be the find of the season for Kings along with Shashank Singh.
Jay Shah on the number of retentions in the IPL
Jay Shah was also asked about the number of retentions allowed for an IPL team and the need for mega auctions. While some franchises are in favour of retaining players, others are against the rule. Some of the franchises even called for mega auctions to be done away with as it takes a lot of time and effort to build a team.
“We have listened to everyone. Now, the decision is up to us. We have to take the majority view on this. But even the minority view is important. Teams that are established do not want a big auction. Franchises that have an unstable team, they want a big auction,” Shah revealed about the franchises’ point of view.
“As a cricket fan, I think consistency is important but changing things up makes it interesting and helps grow the game,” the BCCI secretary added.
Recently, there was a meeting between BCCI officials and franchise owners at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. A lot of discussions took place in the meeting regarding the Impact player rule and retentions. All the suggestions have been conveyed to the IPL governing council, which will take the final decision.
