Please remove this impact sub thing from IPL: Mohammed Siraj

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) star pacer, Mohammed Siraj, has raised significant reservations regarding the impact player rule in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He has urged the management to repeal the rule, highlighting the pitch conditions and its dangerous effects that cause a game.

Notably, the impact substitute rule in the IPL has ignited considerable controversy, with critics particularly highlighting its limitations on the potential of all-rounders within teams. Now, Siraj emphasizes that the existing flat wickets offer little for bowlers, specifically compounded by the impact rule.

“It’s important to be comfortable, if you think too much, it’ll lead to negativity and frustrations, so I always try to be as positive as possible, try to close all negative connotations around me. Please remove this impact sub thing (laughs), the wickets are already flat and there’s nothing for the bowlers in it, previously, it used to be slow at times, but the batters now come out swinging at absolutely everything," Siraj said ahead of RCB's clash against KKR.

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"My game plan is to be consistent, if a good ball gets hit, so be it. It was a long time that teams made 250+, but it has become such a common feature now (thanks to impact sub and the flat pitches). It’s been a long time since I’ve played a day game, I last played a day game during the Test series against England, but we’re professionals and we have no excuses,” the 30-year-old added.

For the unreversed, the impact player rule was originally introduced in the Big Bash League, and the IPL adopted it during the 2023 edition. With this rule, franchises can designate five substitutes in addition to their initial lineup before the start of the game. 

Also read: BCCI open to discussions on IPL's Impact Player rule after India captain Rohit Sharma's take on it

Once the match begins, both team captains can propose any of these five substitutions to replace a player from the starting XI during designated breaks in the game, such as the start of an innings, the conclusion of an over, the fall of a wicket, or a batter's departure. If the bowling team opts to bring on a substitute after a wicket falls or when a batter retires mid-over, the incoming player won't be allowed to bowl the remaining deliveries of that over.