The Indian Premier League on Friday announced that the 2023 edition of the T20 tournament will see a new concept introduced to add a new dimension to the IPL, wherein one substitute player per team will be able to take a more active part in the match.

According to a note sent to IPL franchises on Tuesday, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, the Board of Control of Cricket in India stated: “Also note that from IPL 2023 Season a tactical/strategic concept will be introduced to add a new dimension to IPL, wherein one substitute player per team will be able to take a more active part in an IPL match.”

Advertisement

“The regulations pertaining to the same will be issued shortly,” it added.

Although it is unclear whether the tactical-substitute system planned for the IPL would be similar to the Impact Player rule introduced for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the BCCI were able to successfully test out the tactical scope of the rule during the matches in October and November.

‘Impact Player’ substitute rule to be introduced for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Reports

The impact player rule allowed each team to change one player from its Playing XI during a match. The designated Impact Player could enter the game at any point before the end of the 14th over of either innings and after being introduced, the new player would get to bat and bowl his entire four overs quota.

Advertisement

Substitution regulations have been a common sight in sports like basketball, football, and rugby. However, they have also been added to cricket to enhance the tactical scope of the game. For instance, the Big Bash League in Australia also implemented the X-Factor rule. The Super Sub rule used in 2005 and 2006 was also featured in One Day Internationals games where a substitute’s role coincided with that of the player he replaced. This meant that the replacement player could only bowl the remaining overs from the quota of the player he replaced and could not bat if the original player had already been dismissed.

More to follow...