"If you are a genuine all-rounder, no one can stop you" - Zaheer Khan backs Impact Player Rule to continue in the IPL

Newly appointed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Zaheer Khan backed the existence of the much-discussed Impact Player rule in the IPL. The former pacer, who joined the franchise today, echoed Ravichandran Ashwin's sentiments from a day earlier on the Impact Player rule.

However, the rule has met with criticism from stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, among other former players. Those against the rule have felt it to be a detriment to the development of all-rounders, something Zaheer disagreed with.

At an LSG event in Kolkata today, he said as quoted by Firstpost:

"As far as all-rounders are concerned, there is no space for a half-all-rounder because of the impact sub. But if you are a genuine all-rounder, no one can stop you. There will always be a value addition if you have that kind of ability with bat and ball."

He highlighted the opportunity the Impact Player rule has provided to uncapped Indian players.

"I am for it (Impact Player rule). It has given chances to a lot of uncapped Indian players. You will see that in this mega auction when teams will be looking at them. The opportunity goes a long way toward improving Indian cricket as a whole," Zaheer stated.

The Impact Player rule, allowing a player in the 11 to be replaced by one of the five substitutes listed during the game, has been instituted from the 2023 IPL season.

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"It gives a little more value for strategy" - Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin feels the Impact Player Rule added more value to strategy in the IPL, hence backing its presence.

The 37-year-old has seen his franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) reap the rewards of the rule with the emergence of Dhruv Jurel, who was often used as the Impact player in IPL 2023.

Ashwin spoke about the rule on Kris Srikkanth's YouTube channel and said:

"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. 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."

Ashwin's RR also endured the other side of the Impact Player Rule when SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) used spin-bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed in the role during the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 against them.

With SRH in deep trouble, Shahbaz scored a crucial 18 and picked up figures of 3/23 to help the side advance to the final.