Former cricketer Suresh Raina (PTI Photo)
Raina says impact player rule has made life difficult for bowlers
Earlier, 170 was a competitive score, but now 250 is being chased as well. Even 300 is being scored,” Raina told the former India batter, Aakash Chopra . The former India batter, who was part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team, said he no longer believes there is a need for Indian players to feature in competitions such as Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) and England’s Hundred.
The teams first announce their batting and bowling XIs at the toss, while the designated replacement can be introduced after the first ball has been bowled.
I had come close to playing as well, but then they said no,” said Raina. The situation has changed considerably since those days, according to Raina. Back then, I would have definitely said yes.
Suresh Raina has become the latest former India cricketer to raise concerns over the impact player rule in the Indian Premier League ( IPL ), arguing that the experiment has significantly tilted the balance of the game towards batters. The impact player rule allows teams to name five substitute options after the toss, from which they can bring in one replacement at any point during the match. “I am against the Impact player rule. A lot of fit players also bat and just sit down. How will you improve? There is no such rule in the World Cup. I understand the entertainment factor, but there is nothing left for the bowlers. “I feel Indian players should not be allowed now. Our league has become very big. When we used to go on Australia and England tours before, I used to ask this. The IPL has grown into one of the biggest competitions in world cricket, while overseas leagues have increasingly relied on international players travelling to India for the tournament. “Now, a lot of outside players come here, and the quality of foreign leagues has also gone down. But at this time, we are ruling the world. Cricket is going somewhere else, and our team is very solid,” he added.