Days after announcing the the impact player rule will stay in the Indian Premier League (IPL); The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to act against the impact player rule as concern grow over the long-term impact of the regulation.

According to a report by Cricbuzz, The Indian cricket governing body have informed state assocations that the rule will be scrapped for the upcoming season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). The 2024-25 season of India's domestic T20 competition is set to start from November 23 with the final scheduled to take place on December 15.

"Kindly note that the BCCI has decided to do away with the provision of 'Impact Player' for the ongoing season," a short communcation from BCCI to all state associations said as per the same report.

For those unversed, the impact player rule which essentially allows the team to field 12 player and use an extra batter/bowler was first used on an experiment basis in the 2022-23 season of the SMAT before the move to introduce it in the IPL was taken from the 2023 season.

While the rule brought more excitement to the sport, it has divided opinions, as many have questioned if it is healthy for the sport's growth in the country. The rule has been held responsible for the lack of all-rounders developing in the country and also the increase in the imbalance between bat and ball.

Both Indian captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli had raised reservations against the rule.

"I genuinely feel that it is going to hold back (development of India all-rounders). Eventually, cricket is played by 11 players not 12 players. I am not a big fan of ‘Impact Player’, you are taking out so much from the game just because of little bit of entertainment, for people around.

“...I can give you so many examples, guys like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl. For us (Indian team), it is not a good thing you know. I don’t know what you can do about it but I am not a fan of it, frankly speaking. It is entertaining because there are 12 players, whoever the impact player is, you can change a player later seeing how the game goes, depending on how the pitch is behaving," said Rohit on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast.

"I agree with him [Rohit]; I say it how it is. If you see in this IPL, okay, entertainment is [on] one side, but the bowlers are feeling like what they should do [to restrict the batters]," Kohli told Jio Cinema. "I have never experienced anything like it where bowlers think they will concede a four or a six every ball. This is a very high-level of cricket, and in my opinion, it shouldn't be that dominant [in one aspect]. There is a beauty in having an equal battle between bat and ball," said Kohli to Jio Cinema

"Not every team has a [Jasprit] Bumrah or a Rashid Khan or a mystery bowler. So what will you do? I am telling you, one extra batter is the reason why I am playing with a 200-plus strike rate in the powerplay. I know there is a batsman coming in at No. 8 as well.

"As a batsman, I can say this rule is good, but the match should be exciting. Only fours and sixes are not exciting in cricket. Exciting is that you can defend 160 as well. So I think a bit of balance has been tipped over," Kohli added.

While removal from the 2024-25 SMAT season will come as a welcome move for young all-rounders to showcase their potential, the Impact Player rule will remain in place in the IPL, meaning that little will change on the biggest stage for budding cricketers to make a mark with their all-round abilities and earn a place in the Indian team.

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