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Follow UsThe new Impact Player rule has been introduced in this edition of the Indian Premier League. According to this rule, each team can nominate as many as five substitute players along with their playing XI after the toss. One of them can replace a player from the XI at any stage during the match.
At the time of writing this, 14 matches have been completed, and we have got an initial glimpse of how the ten sides are using the impact player rule. We, at cricket.com, have tried to break down who are all the top five impact players across these games.
We did it by measuring cricket.com’s player impact metric for each impact player. The Player Impact metric is calculated on every ball and aggregated at the end of the match. It is derived from the change in live win percentage caused by the player.
Venkatesh Iyer
Match 13: Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders required an extra batter after losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz early in the chase of 205 against the reigning champions, Gujarat Titans. They opted for Venkatesh Iyer as the impact player in place of Suyash Sharma. Venkatesh's aggressive knock of 83 runs from 40 balls laid the foundation for the chase, and the Player Impact Score generated by him was 37.2. This was the highest impact score for an impact player till Match 14.
Dhruv Jurel
Match 8: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings
Rajasthan Royals required batting depth while chasing a huge target of 198 against the Punjab outfit. They opted for Dhruv Jurel as the impact player in place of Yuzvendra Chahal. With 74 runs required from 30 balls to seal the chase, the right-handed batter hammered 32 runs off 15 balls, and the Player Impact Score generated by him was 10.2.
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Match 10: Lucknow Super Giants vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad had to defend a total of 121 against the Lucknow Super Giants, so they needed an extra bowler for early wickets with the new ball. This is exactly what they did as the Orange Army opted for Fazalhaq Farooqi as the impact player in place of Rahul Tripathi, which strengthened their pace bowling attack. The left-arm seamer also scalped the wicket of inform Kyle Mayers and ended with exceptional figures were 3-0-13-1, and the Player Impact Score generated by him was 8.1.
Kumar Kartikeya
Match 12: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
Vijay Shankar
Match 7: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
In pursuit of 162 against the Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans lost a flurry of wickets in the powerplay and opted to use Vijay Shankar as the impact player in place of Josh Little. The right-handed batter forged a 50-run partnership with Sai Sudharsan which was crucial during the chase. He scored 29 runs off 23 balls and the Player Impact Score generated by him was 4.1.
All the teams have completed two matches and we are still at the early stage of the tournament. It would be interesting to watch how teams plan and operate the impact player.
