The veteran Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan shared his thoughts on an impact player rule's unavailability in the T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday. The PBKS skipper joined his national teammates Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to point out the effect of the impact rule in T20 cricket lately.
In the IPL 2024, teams have been able to post a 250-plus total on a record eight times with Sunrisers Hyderabad breaking the highest total record for two times in a season. Batters are also enjoying scoring big runs knocking the depth in the batting lineup due to impact player rule.
However, the introduction of the rule has definitely affected the bowler's performance and the role of all-rounders. Both Rohit and Virat recently spoke out against the rule and now Shikhar revealed how the impact player rule has changed the mindset in T20 cricket.
Dhawan, 38, also pointed out the unavailability of the impact player rule in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 and said it will be a differentiator. Shikhar added that the teams are expected to struggle to adapt to conditions in the absence of an impact player rule in the mega tournament in the USA and West Indies.
"I feel as if the game itself has changed this year, which is why scores of 250 are being put on and the mindset has certainly changed," Dhawan told PTI. "But when you go into the World Cup which won’t have the impact player rule, the impact of it would be seen definitely. That is a differentiator and how we adapt to the conditions is what will matter the most. The mindset has changed after the introduction of the impact player. When a batter in the middle knows that there is batting available till number 8 and 9, he is going to take the aggressive route which is why so many high scores are being made."
