IPL 2023: BCCI announce BIG rule change, IMPACT Players restricted to THIS

The new rule will not change the primary rule of only four foreign players taking part in a game. Impact Players in IPL 2023 is only restricted to Indian players.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) are set to introduce a big change for the upcoming 2023 season which is expected to get underway around April next year. IPL 2023 is set to witness the introduction of the ‘Impact Player’ concept by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the first time in the T20 League’s history. However, the Indian cricket board is yet provide the details and rules pertaining to the ‘Impact Player’ concept to the 10 franchises yet.

The BCCI managers who are in touch with the franchises have suggested that only Indian players could come in as the 12th player or as an Impact substitute during an IPL match. According to Cricbuzz website, the franchises have been explained a team cannot introduce an overseas player in place of another overseas player, nor will a team be allowed to have a foreign player in player in place of an Indian.

The new rule will not change the primary rule of only four foreign players taking part in a game. Whether a foreign player will be allowed to come in if a team goes into a match with only three overseas players in the starting XI is not yet clear.

“...Also note that from IPL 2023 Season a tactical/strategic concept will be introduced to add a new dimension to IPL, wherein one substitute player per team will be able to take a more active part in an IPL match. The regulations pertaining to the same will be issued shortly,” a BCCI note quoted by Cricbuzz website stated.

The IPL franchises will now have to rethink their strategies with this new curveball thrown by the BCCI. With the rule being restricted to Indian players, this could impact how the franchises plan for the IPL 2023 mini auction, which is set to take place in Kochi on December 23.

The Impact Player concept was first introduced in this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and the BCCI was satisfied that the experiment. The BCCI has drawn inspiration for this from football and a few other games where substitutes play a very active role.

“The concept is to allow one substitute player per team to take a more active part in a match. This would add a new tactical /strategic dimension to the game. A number of team sports allow teams to make tactical substitutes i.e. football, rugby, basketball, baseball. The substitute is allowed to perform or participate like any other regular player,” the BCCI had said.