Former India batting icon Sachin Tendulkar has urged a rethink of key IPL playing rules, arguing that the Impact Player concept has pushed T20 cricket too far towards batters. Speaking at the ESPNcricinfo Awards, Tendulkar said the regulation should be removed, citing the balance of a format that already demands each team to negotiate a set number of overs.
Quick facts
- Sachin Tendulkar called for major IPL regulation changes, including scrapping the Impact Player rule.
- The Impact Player rule was introduced ahead of the 2023 season.
- Tendulkar criticised how the rule adds an extra batter while bowlers are already under pressure.
- He proposed reshaping the powerplay, with the first four overs treated as a batting phase and the final two overs controlled by the fielding captain.
- Tendulkar also suggested increasing the maximum overs a bowler can bowl in a T20 innings from four to five.
Tendulkar’s concern centres on the way the Impact Player rule works in practice. Under the system, a side can swap a member of its starting XI with one of five designated substitutes at any point during the match. While the idea was meant to create more tactical options, Tendulkar said he does not like what it does to competitive balance.
He linked his argument directly to the nature of T20 cricket. In his view, teams already have to bat through 20 overs, so adding another batter through the substitute mechanism further tilts the contest. Tendulkar stressed that bowlers are already being tested and challenged in the modern game, making any additional batting advantage harder to justify.
The former captain also pointed to how pitches and match setups can magnify the effect. With many games seeing huge totals on batting-friendly surfaces, he believes the Impact Player rule widens the gap between batters and bowlers even more. The regulation, in his assessment, does not merely add flexibility—it changes the balance of skill required from each discipline.
The Impact Player rule has drawn scrutiny from multiple high-profile voices as well. Tendulkar noted that India captain Shubman Gill and former skipper Rohit Sharma have both questioned how the rule affects the role of all-rounders and the overall equilibrium of the match. Their concerns, he suggested, echo the wider debate around whether the substitute system undermines traditional team structures.
Powerplay tweak and captain’s control
To address what he sees as the imbalance, Tendulkar offered an alternative approach focused on the powerplay. He suggested adjusting the powerplay structure by introducing a dedicated bowling phase that would give captains greater say over field settings throughout the match.
His proposal starts with the first six overs being split into two distinct segments. During the initial six-over powerplay, he said the standard restriction applies: only two fielders are allowed outside the ring. Instead of treating all six overs the same way, Tendulkar wants the first four overs to remain a batting powerplay using the same field restrictions.
After that, he argued that the next two overs should be decided by the fielding captain at the time they choose. Those two consecutive overs would also allow one additional fielder to be placed outside the ring at any stage of play. Tendulkar’s reasoning was that this would let the defending side manage the game more effectively, responding to match situations rather than being locked into a single pattern.
More overs for frontline bowlers
Tendulkar also advocated changing bowling limits in T20 innings. He suggested raising the maximum number of overs a bowler can deliver from four to five, allowing teams to lean more heavily on their best bowling options when it matters most.
In his view, the fifth over is naturally where the top bowler of a team is likely to be used anyway. He questioned why the format should prevent that, noting that leading batters sometimes face the full quota—often even 20 overs—so there should be room for the best bowler to bowl longer as well. Tendulkar framed the idea as a simple question of fairness and tactical value, asking why the most effective bowler should not be given five overs to influence the innings.
