Sunrisers Hyderabad surprised all by naming only three overseas players in their XI today against Lucknow Super Giants, but it was a well-thought-out tactic, which allowed them the freedom to maximise the Impact Player rule.

According to the IPL’s new rule, a team can only use an overseas player as an Impact Player if they originally name fewer than four foreigners in their playing XI. Only if a team starts with three or fewer overseas cricketers will they be allowed to bring in a fourth midway through the match.

In the first nine games of IPL 2023, Mumbai Indians were the only team to use an overseas Impact Player, when they switched in Jason Behrendorff for Suryakumar Yadav against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The five-time champions had named only three overseas players in their original side, and subbed in the quick after the first innings.

SRH, on Friday, became the second team to name three overseas players – Aiden Markram, Harry Brook and Adil Rashid – in their side this season, with Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi among the Impact Player options, along with Indians Mayank Markande and Mayank Dagar.

It allowed the team greater liberty to choose the player they wanted to bring in according to the match situation. If they lost quick wickets, they would have had the option of fielding Klaasen, a batter who has a T20 average of 30.26 and a strike rate nearing 140. In T20Is, Klaasen’s strike rate is over 148, and he can be a handy batter in the middle-order, with the skills and the experience of resurrecting an innings.

If SRH’s original batting order gave the team a flourishing start, the team would have had the option of fielding Jansen, a big-hitter who can strike crucial sixes down the order. The South Africa all-rounder has hit 14 of his 20 T20 sixes in the death overs and can contribute with important runs down the order. Jansen can also be used as a bowling option and can send down deliveries close to 90mph.

SRH also had the doors open to field Farooqi, a left-arm fast bowler, who was subbed out for Abdul Samad in the team’s first game of the season, against Rajasthan Royals. Farooqi has an economy rate of less than 7.5 in the powerplay overs, picking up 14 scalps in 29 innings upfront, and his presence allows SRH to further boost their fast-bowling reserves, which already comprises Umran Malik, T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The tactic of leaving the option of selecting their fourth player on the go earned plenty of praise, with commentator Harsha Bhogle saying, “It shows the advantage of leaving your options open.”

SRH is only playing with 3 overseas player which means they can get a foreign impact player

This is excellent move by the team

— All About Cricket (@allaboutcric_) April 7, 2023

When I saw the XI my first question was, why not Klaasen for Anmolpreet?

Because they want to keep their overseas player as well as Impact Player open-ended.

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) April 7, 2023

SRH left their balance open-ended, picking out their best players as the game progressed, adapting with the go and leaving the rivals guessing.