New Delhi: After Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli too expressed his displeasure on the Impact Player rule I the Indian Premier League. Introduced in the 2023 edition, the impact player rule has created much noise in the ongoing edition as it gave more freedom to batters, putting the bowlers on the receiving end every time. To add more to it, the rule also negated the role of all-rounders with the likes of Shivam Dube and Venkatesh Iyer to name a few suffering the most.
Kohli, who is currently the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2024, stated because of the Impact Player rule, he is batting with a strike rate of 200 in the powerplays. “I agree with Rohit Sharma on the impact player rule. The bowlers feel like every ball is a 4 or a 6 now,” Kohli told JioCinema ahead of the RCB vs CSK clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
“Entertainment is one side but also see at the bowlers and how they are feeling. I have never experienced anything like this. This is a very high level of cricket and it should not be that dominant in my opinion,” he added. Kohli also stated the beauty of cricket lies in its equal balance between bat and ball.
“That is the beauty of having a equal battle between bat and ball. Every team doesn’t have someone like Jasprit Bumrah. With one extra batter, this is the reason why I am batting with a 200-plus strike rate in the powerplay. I know I have a batter at no.8 so that I can play freely,” added the former India captain.
However, Kohli felt the BCCI will come into a conclusion when they review the Impact Player Rule post IPL 2024. “I think this is disrupting the balance. I know Jay Shah has said they’ll be reviewing this after the season and I am sure they will come to a conclusion where there will be a balance,” he said.
Earlier Rohit felt the Impact Player rule is going to hold back the development of all-rounders. “I genuinely feel it is going to hold back the development of all-rounders because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12,” Rohit had said.
“So, I am not a big fan of the Impact Player rule because you are taking so much from the game just to make it a little more entertaining for the people around you,” he added. Not only Rohit and Virat, players like Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel have also voiced their concerns on the same.
