Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Josh Hazlewood (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) Andy Flower has offered a balanced view of the much-debated Impact Player rule, calling it a positive addition to the Indian Premier League, even as opinion remains divided within the cricket fraternity. Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Flower described the rule as an “interesting innovation” that adds a new tactical layer to the game. While prominent names like Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have criticized the rule for diminishing the importance of all-round skills, Flower believes it enhances strategic decision-making. “I think it’s been a good innovation, it’s interesting to be a part of. You’re deciding on an impact player and I think it’s interesting for the audience to debate what’s right and what’s wrong, so tactically it’s quite an interesting addition to the game,” said Flower. But he also admitted that the rule comes with its own complications. According to Flower, one of cricket’s traditional challenges – balancing the playing XI – is becoming slightly diluted. “I have to say one of the things I love about cricket is that when you pick an 11, one of the challenges you have is balancing your 11 – the length of the batting order, maybe balancing some of the guys who can’t bowl as well, and it’s one of the things that makes the selection a bit more difficult.” “The impact player rule kind of hides that selection issue, so I think one of the great things about cricket is some of the selection debates, and when you pick players with simple skills, you weaken another area of your game, an impact player can hide that, so I think there are pros and cons to that,” he added. From RCB’s point of view, the team combination was further complicated by the absence of key pacemakers. Josh Hazlewood, who was the franchise’s leading wicket-taker last season, is yet to return to the team after arriving in Bengaluru. “Hazlewood arrived yesterday, he looks fit. I told him he looks even younger than I remember. So he’s had some good downtime but he’s been working hard to get back to full fitness, we’re working closely with Cricket Australia on his fitness. So it’s great to have him in our dressing room and in the meetings.” “But he won’t be ready for tomorrow, he just got off the plane, but we’ll be watching his fitness very closely and we’re looking forward to him coming into the IPL,” Flower said. Meanwhile, Flower expressed confidence in the pace options available, which will pick up in Hazlewood’s absence, especially with Yash Dayal also unavailable. “Unfortunately Yash is not with us. So we have Mangesh, Abhi and Rasik all competing for a place. We are happy to have recruited Mangesh, a left-arm lad to replace Yash. We are also happy with Abhinandan’s progress, he has played a lot more in recent matches when he played in the recent DYP competition.” “I think Rasik is a better bowler than he was last year, he’s obviously worked very hard at it and shown a lot of qualities that could stand him in good stead if he gets a chance in this tournament, so we’re happy with the three Indian sears,” he added. As RCB prepare to defend their title, Flower’s comments reflect both the opportunities and challenges that come with the modern innovations of T20.
