No Impact Player rule in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Reports

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to remove the Impact Player rule in India’s premier domestic T20 competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), that’s scheduled to start on November 23 late this year. 

The decision by the BCCI is in sharp contrast to their affinity for the rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where impact substitutes have been in use since the last two seasons. A report published by Cricbuzz stated that the BCCI sent an email to the state associations which mentioned that “…the BCCI has decided to do away with the provision of ‘Impact Player’ for the ongoing season.”

After being implemented in the SMAT two years ago, the controversial rule was also implemented in the IPL, which swelled team totals substantially and bowlers were dominated by the batters substantially. The rule which allows each team to replace a player from the playing XI with a substitute, allowed teams to deepen their batting lineups, and as a result, a lot of criticism happened. 

However, the broadcasters really welcomed the move as it increased the boundaries, and the spectacle became grander for the viewers. Meanwhile, the players, especially the bowlers, were averse to it, with spinner R. Ashwin being a notable exception. 

The issues with the diminishing role of allrounders due to the rule also added to its infamy, and deliberate discussions were held between the BCCI and team owners regarding this in a meeting few weeks ago.