‘Nothing left for bowlers’: Suresh Raina sounds alarm over IPL impact player rule
Former cricketer Suresh Raina (PTI Photo) Suresh Raina has become the latest former Indian cricketer to express concern over the impact player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), claiming that the experiment has significantly tilted the balance of the game towards the batsmen.The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman, who was part of four IPL winning campaigns, believes that bowlers have been particularly disadvantaged since the rule was introduced in 2023. The issue has remained a point of debate among players, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also expressing their reservations about the rule during the 2024 season.
Raina says the impact player rule has made life difficult for bowlers
The impact player rule allows teams to name five substitutes at random, from which they can bring in one substitute at any time during a match. Teams will first announce their batting and bowling XIs at the toss, with a designated replacement being introduced after the first ball has been bowled.Raina believes the option of additional compensation has played a major role in the batting explosion in the IPL. Scores that once seemed difficult to chase down have become increasingly attainable, with teams breaking the 200-run mark regularly and several totals over 250 being recorded in the last three seasons.This trend was particularly evident during the 2024 edition when Punjab Kings successfully chased down a target of over 260 against Kolkata Knight Riders.Raina feels that the increasing emphasis on batting depth has left less opportunities for bowlers to influence matches.“I am against the Impact player rule. Many good players also bat and just sit back. How do you improve? There is no such rule in the World Cup. I understand the fun factor, but there is nothing left for the bowlers. Earlier 170 was a competitive score, but now 250 is being chased. Even 300 is scored,” Chopraash India told former Abater.The former India international believes the rule has also reduced the consequences of losing wickets as teams can bring in extra specialist batters if required.“Leave something for the bowlers. There is no wicket option. The batsmen will not get out and with the extra bowlers there will be pressure on the bowlers,” he added.
Raina is changing the attitude towards Indian players in overseas leagues
Raina also addressed another long-standing debate surrounding Indian cricketers: whether they should be allowed to participate in overseas T20 leagues.The former India batsman, who was part of India’s World Cup winning team in 2011, said he no longer believes there is a need for Indian players to feature in competitions such as Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) and England’s One Hundred.Raina revealed that he wanted to play in overseas leagues earlier and even came close to it. However, permission was not granted then.“I feel Indian players should not be allowed now. Our league has become very big. When we toured Australia and England before, I asked about it. I was also close to playing but then they said no,” Raina said.
‘We rule the world’: Raina backs IPL status
According to Raina, the situation has changed considerably since then. The IPL has grown into one of the biggest competitions in world cricket, while overseas leagues increasingly rely on international players traveling to India for the tournament.He also feels that the overall quality of some foreign T20 leagues has declined compared to the past, making it even less important for Indian players to gain experience abroad.“Now a lot of players are coming here from outside and the quality of the foreign leagues has also gone down. Then I would definitely say yes. But at the moment we rule the world. Cricket is going somewhere else and our team is very solid,” he added.
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