South Africa wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen has given his verdict on the Impact Player rule and its implications on the game.
The Impact Player rule was introduced in the IPL last year, an experiment which has drastically changed the nature of the tournament leading to ultra-high scores and teams attacking relentlessly with the bat, even in the face of collapses.
Heinrich Klaasen, who made a name for himself as one of the most destructive white-ball batters in world cricket currently, has had a great time at the IPL in the last couple of years, scoring 927 runs at an average and strike rate of 44.1 and 173.9 respectively.
Klaasen not in favour of the Impact Player for international cricket
Speaking to SportsBoom, Klaasen said how the Impact Player rule has given batters a lot of freedom: “The Impact sub rule allowed batsmen to play with much more freedom and the execution was at a different level on pitches that were good.
"In the IPL, you are measured by the number of sixes you hit and your strike rate. That’s your bread-and-butter, and no one worries about your average."
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However, he doesn't want the rule to get applied in international cricket: “But I hope the impact sub does not come into international cricket. It frees up the batting side too much and you can have a batsman at number nine with it, so there’s no need for anyone to hang around.
“It takes away the creativity of batting, it takes away smart batting. Like when Jos Buttler scored a superb century off 60 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Kolkata Knight Riders to chase down 224, having scored just 25 off his first 18 deliveries. The Impact sub will take away that sort of brilliance to sum up conditions and hang around a bit, against just bombing the ball over small boundaries.
“It will allow teams to not play the situation so well. We also don’t get a lot of difficult pitches in the IPL, which is why the way teams go extremely hard in the powerplay is the big trend, and then the middle-order adjusts depending on whether you’re in trouble or flying."
Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma had also expressed reservations against the Impact sub rule, citing that it would "hold back [development of all-rounders] because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12 players."
South Africa have played one game so far at the ICC men's T20 World Cup, where they defeated Sri Lanka convincingly by six wickets. They next play the Netherlands on June 8.
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