‘It doesn’t make sense’: Dinesh Karthik on scrapping Impact Player rule ahead of IPL 2027

Royal Challengers Bengaluru batsman and mentor Dinesh Karthik (Image: IANS) The Impact Player rule has remained one of the most debated aspects of the Indian Premier League, with questions about its effect on team strategies, high-scoring contests and India’s ability to develop quality all-rounders. Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik has acknowledged the shortcomings of the rule but believes the IPL should retain it for the 2027 season before deciding its future.Karthik argued that removing the rule before the conclusion of the current IPL cycle would be unfair to franchises that have built their squads with the next player in mind. While conceding that the rule has gradually lost its relevance, he emphasized that any decision to scrap it should be taken only after the ongoing cycle is completed.Speaking to Cricbuzz, the former India wicketkeeper-batsman explained why maintaining consistency in the playing conditions of the tournament is crucial even as concerns grow over the long-term impact of the rule.

Dinesh Karthik explains why the Impact Player rule should remain for IPL 2027

“When it (the Impact Player rule) first came out, it was very good because there were high-scoring games and there were a lot of teams that almost made it. But surprisingly, there weren’t too many close games last season.“It just seemed like one team scored a lot and the other team eventually caught up. And if you look at how the impact player rule affected the IPL, it was quite positive in the beginning. But slowly but surely it started to lose its charm and the reason it was there,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.He pointed out that this rule had the effect of India not being able to produce many versatile machines. “It helped the game get a higher score than it was. But it definitely reduced India’s chances as a cricketing country producing all-rounders,” he said before wanting the rule to remain in place this season.“But I wouldn’t want it to be scrapped for this season because the teams were picked with impact players in mind. So it makes a lot of sense.“When you pick a team, you pick a team based on the 12 players you’re going to play with. Now all of a sudden, when you make 11, there could be a team that’s obviously not as strong as 12, but a lot better than 11, and that’s an unfair advantage and it’s something they could get rid of after this season.”“But in general I feel like it was pretty good at the beginning, but right now it’s losing the relevance and the importance that it probably gave to the fans as well as the players,” he added.

It “doesn’t make sense” to cancel the rule mid-cycle

Karthik further stated that the rule should be brought before the start of the cycle and lifted after it ends, cementing his claim as to why he wants the rule to remain until 2027, which will also bring curtains to the three-year cycle.“But I feel like as a rule, whatever new rule you want to put in place, you have to put it in at the beginning of the cycle and remove it at the end of the cycle if you don’t want to (continue). First of all, this impact player rule was put in between and then to remove it in the middle of one, I don’t think makes sense. That’s all I would say,” he added.