Former Indian player Sadagoppan Ramesh asked for the removal of the Impact Player rule in the IPL, considering the dwindling number of all-rounders in Indian cricket. The BCCI has reportedly asked the IPL franchises for their feedback on the much-discussed rule after the 2026 season (via Cricbuzz) as well. However, the Impact Player Rule was introduced ahead of the 2023 IPL season, allowing teams to name their 12th-man option to feature as a substitute for a player from the original playing XI as well. However, the extra player has led to extremely high-scoring games over the past four seasons as well.

Talking about this, Ramesh said on his Instagram handle: “This rule has already negatively affected Indian cricket. When Hardik Pandya isn’t there, we go two steps below to Nitish Kumar Reddy and even further down to Shivam Dube as the next option. So the gap between an ace all-rounder and the secondary options is widening. The removal of the Impact Player rule will only help India get a spin-bowling all-rounder like Ravindra Jadeja.”

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“Also, when a player is only going to be used for batting, they stop working hard on their fielding. That results in their fielding skills going down when they play for India. The removal of this rule will also make the pure batters and bowlers perform better, as they’ll know that only if they produce something extra can they be in the 11 with the revival of all-rounders,” he shared again.

Sadagoppan Ramesh also believes the IPL’s primary goal should be to enhance and benefit Indian cricket and that the Impact Player has adversely affected the team as well.

“We’ve seen some players like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shubman Gill oppose this rule. A few others have supported it as it provides an extra option and increases the entertainment value. I personally feel the IPL has to be beneficial to Indian cricket. All-rounders have been adversely impacted by this rule. They used to be like gold before,” Sadagoppan Ramesh concluded.