BCCI confirms Impact Player rule for SMAT, approves India’s participation in Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou

The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed that all the teams will be allowed to introduce Impact Players in the upcoming edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Notably, the new phenomenon was introduced in the last edition of the competition but there were certain complications regarding it as the teams were allowed to bring in players only before the 14th over of the match.

However, in the upcoming edition, teams will be allowed to introduce Impact Players whenever they want, just like it happened in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League or in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League. Teams will now be allowed to name four impact players before the toss and can introduce any of them during the course of the match.

Notably, the upcoming edition of the T20 tournament is set to begin on October 16 but the schedule of the same has not been yet disclosed. Meanwhile, the venues of the tournament will also need to get finalized as the ODI World Cup will run at the same time.

Other than this massive development, BCCI also confirmed that the Indian team will participate in the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou in September-October. As per The Hindu, a second-string India team will be participating in the competition while the main team will be preparing for the upcoming ODI World Cup, which is slated to begin on October 5.

“Through effective planning, communication, and coordination, the BCCI aims to navigate those challenges successfully and contribute to the national cause by fielding a team in both men's and women's categories in line with the Government of India's directions,” the board said.

Meanwhile, as per previous reports, Shikhar Dhawan is likely to make his return and lead the team in the Asian Games. Since all the senior cricketers will be unavailable for selection, the return of Dhawan is anticipated. NCA chief VVS Laxman is likely to travel with the squad and the squad is likely to get announced next month.