Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been one of the breakout stars of IPL 2026, but former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the league’s Impact Player rule may be limiting how young talents like him develop in the long run. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals sensation has scored 583 runs in 14 matches and played a crucial role in pushing his side into the playoffs, yet the rule has meant he has rarely been required to contribute in the field.

Manjrekar, speaking to Sportstar, argued that the Impact Player rule could create a generation of one-dimensional cricketers by reducing their all-round involvement in the match. In his view, the game should test players more fully instead of allowing them to bat or bowl in isolation and then step away from the rest of the contest.

“The more I think about it, the more I feel we need to do away with the Impact Player rule for this very reason,” Sanjay Manjrekar said. “Is that really what we want to see about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? To only see one side of his game?”

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He further explained that cricket has always demanded more than one skill, and that complete involvement helps define a player’s true value. Referencing Rohit Sharma’s brief knock in the last game, where the India captain scored 22 off 15 balls, Manjrekar questioned whether such short bursts of contribution should be enough in the long term.

“When there’s easy money to be made for very little effort, you have to start questioning that model,” he said, adding that such a system cannot be sustainable if the aim is to build strong, well-rounded cricketers.

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Sanjay Manjrekar also stressed that judging a player only by batting or bowling is incomplete. A cricketer, he said, should be assessed across disciplines, including fielding, awareness and overall involvement in the game. Recalling players like Inzamam-ul-Haq, he noted that fans appreciated them not just for runs, but for the full picture they offered on the field.

“I want the game to test players more thoroughly,” Sanjay Manjrekar said. “If someone is a good bowler, I don’t just want to see him bowl four overs. I want to see how he fields as well.”