‘It takes the skill out of the game’ – GT captain Shubman Gill’s strong opinion on Impact Player rule in IPL | CricTracker

Just days after Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel voiced his concerns over the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill has echoed a similar opinion, stating that the rule reduces the overall skill factor in the game.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Gill made his stance clear on the much-debated rule. The leader of the Ahmedabad-based franchise was not at all in favour of the rule and stated it very clearly.

“Personally, I don’t think there should be an Impact player,” Gill said.

Introduced in the IPL in 2023 after being trialled in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2022-23 season, the Impact Player rule has remained a talking point. While it was scrapped from India’s domestic circuit after the 2024 season, the BCCI decided to continue with it in the IPL, despite criticism that it heavily favours batters.

The rule has allowed teams to strengthen their batting line-ups by effectively adding an extra batter, making life increasingly difficult for bowlers. Gill believes this shift is hampering the very nature of the game, and is very unfair on the bowlers.

“Cricket in general is a 11-player game… adding an extra batsman, I think it takes the skill out of the game. With that one extra player, it is making the game more one dimensional. Chasing 180 or 160 on a challenging wicket is for me more exciting than chasing 220 on a flat track,” he continued.

With the rule further benefiting the game’s balance towards batters, there has been growing speculation around teams breaching the 300-run mark in T20 cricket. Although such a milestone hasn’t been achieved yet, the conversation has gained momentum over the past couple of seasons. However, Gill emphasised that his team’s focus lies elsewhere.

“At the end of the day, you have to score more runs than the other team. Whether it’s by four runs or 150-200 runs, the goal is to win. We are not chasing the glory of scoring 300-350 in a single match. We want to be a team that consistently scores big runs and achieves the par target for that wicket,” Gill said.

He further highlighted Gujarat Titans’ aim to perform consistently across varying conditions rather than relying on flat pitches.

“We want to win matches in different conditions. We don’t want to be a team that performs only on good wickets,” he added.

For the unversed, the Impact Player allows teams to substitute one player from their starting XI with one of five named substitutes at any point during a match, i.e., start of innings, end of over, or fall of a wicket, effectively creating a 12-a-side match.

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