In theory, the impact player rule should make team-building and innings management feel almost mechanical. If a side bats first, it can plan to bat deep—ideally to No. 8—then swap in a batter and replace a bowler at the moment of change of innings. That approach should ideally leave the team with five genuine bowling options, plus the hope that one batter can also contribute as a sixth skill set. If a team bowls first, the logic flips: the batting depth is supplemented later, while bowling resources are prioritised early.
Reality, however, can be messier. Rajasthan Royals (RR) faced exactly that kind of complication on Sunday night against Delhi Capitals (DC). RR started their chase-setting push at 160 for 2 in the opening stages of the 15th over, but the innings suddenly unravelled—four wickets falling in quick succession. With 19 balls remaining, the Royals had slid to 160 for 6.
At that point in the game, RR opted to introduce Dasun Shanaka, a batting allrounder, as their impact selection. The thinking was likely straightforward: with so little time left, Shanaka’s power-hitting would be crucial to squeeze out additional runs and leave DC with a tougher chase.
But the decision carried a major twist. RR made that call while Jofra Archer was still due to bat. Archer may not be labelled an allrounder, yet he has shown he can strike the ball well in the lower order—and with only 19 deliveries left, he is precisely the type of hitter teams can trust to make contact count. Since his IPL debut in 2018, only four batters have struck more sixes than Archer’s 16 from No. 8 or lower. Two of those players—MS Dhoni and Ashutosh Sharma—are established batsmen. The other two are Pat Cummins and Rashid Khan, both of whom also bring strong batting returns. Archer’s six-hitting output sits in the same range as that pair, but his batting skill often appears underused, not only in the IPL but also in international cricket. In his case, England have frequently had the luxury of multiple bowling allrounders during his spell, which can limit opportunities for a specialist finisher to be deployed at exactly the right moments.
Inserting Shanaka before Archer had even come to the crease meant RR were taking away a more traditional bowling option from the XI. The likely candidates would have been legspinner Ravi Bishnoi or left-arm seamer Sushant Mishra—both of whom could have added overs at the back end. Instead, RR effectively banked on Shanaka’s potential to add quick runs in the remaining overs. As it turned out, Shanaka scored 10 off eight balls.
The call became even more significant because RR were without Ravindra Jadeja’s allround impact in the match. Filling Jadeja’s role was Ravi Singh, who is primarily a specialist batter rather than a like-for-like replacement in the bowling and batting balance.
It is important to stress that this was not the only reason RR lost, nor even necessarily the sole driver of the result. On another night, Shanaka’s cameo could easily have swung the contest in RR’s favour.
Still, the timing of the Shanaka introduction had a clear consequence: it narrowed RR’s bowling flexibility. Shanaka—who had not bowled at all in his previous two games of the season—was suddenly required to function as RR’s fifth bowling option. Under those circumstances, he handled the responsibility reasonably well, conceding at a sub-10 economy rate in his three overs and striking the important wicket of DC top-scorer KL Rahul.
Yet the limited overs he bowled told its own story. When the 18th over began, RR still had one more over available each from their main quicks Brijesh Sharma and Adam Milne, plus one from Shanaka. Had RR used all three of those overs at that stage, Shanaka would likely have been held back for the final over—creating a structure where the other two could squeeze DC’s scoring rate enough to give him a defendable target to work with.
RR chose not to go down that route. With left-hand batters at the crease—Axar Patel and David Miller—RR instead turned to Donovan Ferreira, deploying him as a part-time offspinner. DC needed 35 off 18 balls at that point. The plan did not deliver: Miller and Axar struck a six each during the 18th over, and DC hauled in 16 runs from that phase.
In his post-match comments, RR captain Riyan Parag defended the intention behind the Ferreira selection. “Ferreira wasn’t a gamble,” he said. “I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but you’ve got two left-handers [at the crease]. I’d rather bowl Donovan than take a chance and get Shanaka to bowl another over. Didn’t really work out.”
Parag’s reference to Shanaka being a risk if asked for another over underlined how much RR had already leaned on the impact decision—and how that early timing left them with fewer clean bowling pathways later.
This was not the first time IPL 2026 produced a debatable impact player call. Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for example, made a similar kind of early selection in their opening match of the season against RR. They brought in Sarfaraz Khan, a specialist batter, when they were three wickets down inside the fourth over. Mumbai Indians (MI) have also made comparable choices while defending totals—twice opting to sub on bowlers and then not using them at all, including Shardul Thakur against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Raghu Sharma against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have often started with batting-heavy XIs, with Mohammed Shami set at No. 8, but after losing too many wickets too quickly they have been forced to replace him with a more recognisable batter such as Shahbaz Ahmed or George Linde.
Of course, many such tactical calls are made in the pressure of defeat. Decisions that look questionable rarely stay prominent in the memories when the team ends up winning. Sides that win tend not to drift into situations where they must rely on less-than-ideal options, particularly when the margin for error is small.
RR will still feel the sting of how quickly their control slipped. They had dominated the match for the first 14 overs, and the turn into chaos will rankle. In a wider sense, the game mirrored the rhythm of their season: RR began with four successive wins, then tailed off with just two victories in their next eight fixtures. They now sit outside the top four and require a serious turnaround to get back into the race with two matches remaining. If they want that momentum, RR may need to sharpen their decision-making in multiple areas—including, crucially, how they manage impact selections and bowling options at pivotal stages.
