Cricket is going to add a new signal for the umpire to the 20 or so that are already used. When IPL 2023 starts, the umpires will raise and cross their arms to signal the introduction of Impact Player, a new idea that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) says “will add a new tactical/strategic dimension to the game.”
When you combine this with the new rule at the toss, where the captains can announce their XI after tossing the coin, the IPL’s latest season will add a few new twists to the T20 game, which is always changing.
The head coach of a team says, “We’ll have to try a few different things to see how it changes the balance of the team.” He says this because the new rules will change how they think.
In a note about the new umpire signal and rules for the Impact Player, the BCCI said that it would “keep the IPL at the forefront of new ideas in cricket and keep the T20 format from getting stale.”
According to emails sent by the BCCI to franchises, captains can choose their XI after the toss. This is something that was just added to SA20. Before, the captains had to say who was on the team before the coin was flipped. Another change is that the DRS now includes no balls and wide balls, which it didn’t before. “A player may also be able to review any decision made by umpires on the field about wide or no ball,” the rules say.
The biggest change this IPL is the introduction of Impact Player. Here’s how the rule will be followed. The BCCI says, “The Captain will tell the umpire who the Impact Player is, and the umpire will show a signal like the one above to show that the Impact Player is being brought in.”
Adding, “The Impact Player can be brought in one of three ways: I before the start of the innings; (ii) after the end of an over; or (iii) in the case of a batter, when the wicket falls or the batter quits at any time during the over (see Clause 1.8 (iv) below). The bowling team can also get an Impact Player during the fall of the wicket, but that Impact Player will not be permitted to bowl the remaining balls in that over if the wicket has fallen mid-over.”
New Ways to Toss
Says the BCCI: “Currently the Captains have to exchange the teams before the toss, this has been changed to exchange of teams immediately post the toss, to enable teams to choose the best 11 depending on whether they are batting or bowling first. It will also help the teams plan for the player who will make a big difference.”
Each captain has two team sheets with him or her.
(a) playing XI and 5 subs if they bat first.
b) Playing with 11 players and five subs if they bowl first.
The captains will switch team sheets based on the outcome of the coin toss.
Impact Player Rules
At the time of the toss, each team must name its starting XI and five subs. Out of the substitutes named in the team sheet, only one player can be used as an Impact Player.
Both teams are allowed to use one Impact Player per match. But you don’t have to do it. It is up to teams whether they want to use the Impact Player or not.
Importantly, a player who is replaced by an Impact Player (“Replaced Player”) can no longer take part in the remainder of the match and is also not permitted to even return as a substitute fielder, the BCCI further clarified.
If a player gets injured while fielding mid over, the injured player can no longer take part in the match if the team introduces Impact Player to replace him. Otherwise, Impact Player can only be introduced in the manner stated above.
As Cricbuzz reported earlier, the Impact Player can only be an Indian player if the Playing XI has fewer than four players from outside India.
An overseas player can only be used as an Impact Player if a team’s starting XI has fewer than four overseas players. As an Impact Player, you can only use an international player who is one of the five named substitutes on the team sheet. If a team brings in an international player as a “Impact Player” in a game, a fifth international player can never come out.
Only the Captain can tell the on-field umpire or the fourth umpire about the introduction of the Impact Player when a wicket falls or a batter quits during an over or at the end of an innings.
After the Impact Player feature was added to the game, a player can bat and bowl a full 4 overs in a single innings.
