Can 'impact player' rule change the way cricket is played?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has said that the new impact player rule would add a new tactical dimension to the game. Will the new rule extend the life of ageing cricketers like MS Dhoni or will it wipe out T20 all-rounders?Australian legend Ricky Ponting, who is also the head coach of Delhi Capitals, believes the experiment could change the way cricket is played.The innovation was first introduced in the South African T20 league and has since been used in domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament with at least one team using it efficiently.According to the rule, a team can substitute a player in the playing XI at any point in the game. The substitute can bat and bowl a full quota of four overs. Ponting says the new rule makes his job a little more challenging and could be used in international matches if it makes the game more interesting. He also spoke about Rishabh Pant and what he expects from players like Prithvi Shaw.Q: The impact player rule is being said to be a revolutionary step. How challenging is it for a coach?A: It is [challenging]. We put in a fair bit of thought going into the first match on the type of player we might need for an impact player. Obviously, it changes [the selection of the impact player] depending on whether you bat or bowl first.I think it is really a very good innovation. The reason for impact players is to have more Indian players involved in the IPL. Probably, each team is going to use it differently with a different philosophy. We came up with a number of different ideas on how we can use it. medium99354210The simplest and the easiest way is to explain everything to the players. As the tournament goes on, it will start to evolve a lot more. The rule needs a fair bit of refinement and the timing of the substitute needs to be a little better.There was too much time wasted when we wanted to use Aman Khan as an impact player in the first game. I think they [IPL governing council] need to tighten up on that and if they do that then it will be a good move.Q: Is there a possibility that it will be tried in international cricket like the T20 World Cup in 2024?A: It is so new, we don’t know what sort of impact it is going to have on this tournament. If you are naming your best XI, the impact player is not your best player. It is an interesting way of looking at it. If it has a big impact on the tournament, then maybe the International Cricket Council [ICC] will think about using it in tournaments in future. medium99354468When is Rishabh Pant back? His cricket has the answer medium99354476Q: Do you think that this is going to influence young talents who want to be all rounders but maybe it is not that important in T20 cricket now because of impact player rule?A: Yes, that was my first reaction when I saw this new rule being implemented. I thought if you are batting first then you are going to play up to eight batsmen.If you are bowling first, the team will play six specialist bowlers with the ability to bring someone else in later. My immediate reaction was that it was going to influence the all-rounders.Having said that, potentially, you can play more all-rounders in your team in the first innings when you are not sure about the conditions and take the all-rounder out in the second innings. Q: Have you spoken to Rishabh Pant? How do you want him to get involved in the team in the coming days?A: We have had good interactions with Rishabh over the last three months. I had an interesting chat with him just before the first game. He sent a nice video message to our team which was played in our team meeting. I would have loved to have him around as much as possible. In an ideal world, I will want him sitting next to me in the dugout in every game we play at home. That probably is unrealistic. medium99354323 Q: India may not have missed Rishabh Pant in the recently concluded Test series against Australia at home but that certainly is not going to be the case when they meet the Aussies in June for the world Test championship final in England.A: I think they definitely missed him during the Border-Gavaskar Test series. KS Bharat did a good job with gloves, but they would have liked to have Rishabh’s batting in the side.He was in top form coming into the series [Pant played in Bangladesh and scored runs] and is one of the best Test batsmen in the world. You are going to miss that kind of player. We are missing him at Delhi Capitals.I think they [the Indian team] are looking ahead to the WTC final with players like Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul. If they decide to stick with KS Bharat, they have got enough keepers who can do the job in a one-off Test in the UK. Let us see how it pans out over the next few weeks. medium99354375Q: There has been an unusual build-up to the WTC final. Rohit Sharma has spoken about prioritising interest of Indian cricket vis-a-vis franchise cricket. While the key Australian bowlers are not playing in the IPL, Indian attack might be jaded and tired. So, Australia starts in an advantageous situation.A: Yeah, probably. Potentially they do. The way things are looking right now is that Josh Hazlewood hasn’t joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is injured and is not playing in the first few games. There is every chance that he will miss a fair chunk of the IPL and will be reasonably fresh for the WTC final and the Ashes.It is hard to tell what’s going to happen. Mohammad Shami may be rested in a few games of the IPL, if possible. It is a difficult one for every country to manage the workload of the players. There are so many domestic T20 tournaments happening around the world and more international cricket now then ever, it is a really busy schedule for the players.Q: Does the IPL put Indian players in an awkward situation? Australian players like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc can take the call of skipping IPL, but Indians cannot as IPL is Board of Cricket Control of India’s (BCCI’s) baby and they would not want the Rohits and Kohlis to miss this. How do you balance it from a coach and administrator points of view? Do you think there is a middle ground?A: I am not sure what the actual rules are as far as BCCI’s contracted players having to play every game of the IPL is concerned. I am not sure that there is a rule in the IPL.I think it is the players' choice whether they want to play or not. In Australia, the players have the choice to play in the Big Bash League or not if the opportunity arises. They can take up the contract or choose not to join the BBL. IPL is such a huge tournament that I can understand that every high-profile Indian player wants to play every game if they can.Q: You have toured India several times over the past two decades and now spend almost two and half months in a year. How much has your understanding of India changed? Has your understanding of India become better?A: Yes, there is no doubt about that. I toured India a lot whether it was for the Test series or ODI series or the World Cups [1996 & 2011]. I have retired for 10 years now and over the last eight years during my association with the IPL, I have been in India every year. Now, I have a better understanding of this nation, people, culture and places. That has been the fun and enjoyable part of my life.Shane Watson and James Hopes [former Australian players] are also working with me as assistant coaches and they enjoy it a lot. When you are working in the IPL, you are working in the best domestic tournament in the world with all the best players. It is hard not to have fun.Q: Since, Sourav Ganguly is also part of Delhi Capitals [director of cricket], for the next two months, so both former captains are best of friends now?A: [Laughs] We have been good friends for a long time. We were very competitive when we were playing and you can understand that because we were captains of our national sides.It was very competitive as we had a great rivalry. Sourav and I always got along really well. I think we have got great respect for each other. medium99354126I would say that about him and hopefully he would say the same about me. We have worked closely for a number of years now. Now he has a big job with the franchise as a director of cricket. Working with him is a lot of fun and hopefully, we can bring success to the men’s programme here.Q: You have this special knack of picking young talents from nowhere and also identifying leaders like Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya [as Mumbai Indians’ coach]. How do you look at Axar Patel’s elevation to vice-captain this season?A: I think he is playing better than ever before. I think there has been a great improvement in his batting over the past 12 to 18 months. He is someone potentially you would give more responsibility to in the middle order. He is a perfect fit for the vice-captaincy role. He has been at Delhi Capitals for a long time now.He is now an experienced IPL and international player. David [Warner] is an experienced international player and former IPL captain, so we thought that Axar would be perfect as vice-captain. medium99354176Q: How do you handle and motivate a talent like Prithvi Shaw or a Sarfaraz Khan who have been knocking at the doors of Indian cricket?A: Look, hopefully a coach should never have to motivate a player. Motivation must come from within. You can tell that certain guys are more motivated than others. On a daily basis, my job is to make them better. I would like to think that is the sort of environment we are trying to create at Delhi Capitals. When players are coming to our set-up, they want to work hard and we want them to win games for us. And, I think if they are winning the games for their teams, obviously Indian selectors and others are going to see what they do. There are ways and means to motivate the players. It doesn’t have to be a motivational speech. What I try to do is to get to know the players better and build a relationship with them. Hopefully as a result with the relationship they grow as people and players.Q: MS Dhoni is defying age in the IPL. Because of the impact player rule, do you think that he can extend his career for a few years. Also, the likes of AB De Villiers, Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard could have extended it even more and some senior players can now think on those lines.A: I don’t know what the right answer is. I think there comes a stage in everyone’s career where games become a little bit harder, not necessarily because you are not that good as you once were. But there are other things which become more important in life than playing, training and competing every other day. The players you have spoken about like De Villers, when he finished his career he was as good as anyone else. Chris [Gayle] may have slowed down a bit in the field but someone like Chris could have helped for sure. By the end of this IPL, when we see all the games played and how the impact player rule has been used and how it has affected, we will have a better idea.