LSG were well within their rights to swap KL Rahul with Naveen-ul-Haq, but in doing so, they gained an advantage against PBKS. The introduction of the Impact Player rule, going by the concept of other team sports like football, rugby and basketball, in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) added a new dimension to T20 cricket. While the move initially received widespread criticism from cricket pundits, who feared that it would eventually negate the role of all-rounders in the match, it emerged as a key tactical element for teams across the 85 matches played in IPL since its introduction. However, on Saturday, Lucknow Super Giants exposed a loophole in the concept when they introduced Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq as the Impact Player for wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul during their batting innings in the IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium. What does the Impact Player rule say? According to the concept, each team needs to name a playing XI and five substitute fielders at the time of the toss. From those list of substitute players, can a team pick one as an Impact Player. Both teams can make use of this rule only once in the game, albeit they can opt against it as well. Based on the regulations released in 2023, it further mentions that an Impact Player can only be an Indian player unless there are less than 4 overseas players in the Playing XI. Meanwhile, an overseas player can be used as an Impact Player only in a situation where a team nominates less than overseas players in the starting XI. Only an overseas player who is part of 5 substitutes named in the team sheet can be used as an Impact Player. If a team introduces an overseas player as an Impact Player in a match, in no circumstance can a 5th overseas player take the field.
