After Impact Player, IPL announces another groundbreaking change, could prove out to be boon for bowlers

IPL is known for its trailblazing rules and groundbreaking technology, whether it has been removing the soft signal from the review process or using path-breaking technology for giving wide and no-ball IPL has been keen to adopt innovations to make them more transparent and fair to all the participating teams. This modification to the playing conditions was experimented with during the 2023-24 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament.

The advent and popularization of T20 cricket all over the globe have made the game more interesting and audience friendly but at the same, it created a gulf between the bat and the ball with the T20 cricket being tilted more towards the batters. To bridge the gulf between both facets, the IPL Committee has introduced a small but significant change to the game.

In a recent move, it was announced that bowlers will be allowed to bowl 2 bouncers from IPL 2024 which will give more options to the bowlers to tackle the modern batters and will make the contest between the two fairer.

Indian domestic veteran welcomes the move

Indian domestic veteran all-rounder and a regular feature in the IPL, Jaydev Unadkat welcomes the move and says it will give more options to the bowlers to make the batters guess especially in the death overs.

He said, “I do feel two bouncers an over is very much useful, and I feel it's one of those things which gives the bowler an added advantage over batsmen," Unadkat told ESPNcricinfo. "Because, for example, if I bowl a slower bouncer… the batsman in the previous case is sure that no more bouncer is coming. In this case, even if you bowl one slower bouncer in the first half of the over, you can still use one more [in the over]. 

“Someone weak against bouncers will have to be better at it and then it will give the bowler one more weapon in their armoury. So, I feel it's a very small change with a huge impact and as a bowler, I feel it's very important to have that rule."

Unadkat further added, “Also in the death overs, you have one more option," he said. "So, it was becoming more of yorker-oriented [bowling] in death overs for fast bowlers. Not it can be yorker, slower ball, and bouncers because of two bouncers an over. Even if you don't bowl the second bouncer, the batsman still has that expectation that the bowler might bowl the second bouncer."

The Impact Player regulation, introduced for the inaugural time during IPL 2023, is set to persist. According to this rule, alongside naming the playing XI, a team is required to designate four substitutes during the toss. The team has the flexibility to designate any one of these four substitutes as their Impact Player.