‘Impact player needs to go away’: Tendulkar calls for scrapping IPL rule

Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar has called for the removal of the IPL’s impact player rule, arguing that it has tilted the balance of the game too heavily in favour of batters and weakened the contest between bat and ball.

Speaking at the ESPNcricinfo awards for the greatest international cricketers of the 21st century, on the eve of the IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Tendulkar said: "I feel there are a few things which, on a personal note that I can say, I think the impact player needs to go away," Tendulkar said a night before the IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad.

He further added that the rule has contributed to an imbalance in T20 cricket:

"I feel when in a T20 format you just have to play 20 overs, and then you are adding one more batter to that line-up. Where bowlers are already being challenged, I find that imbalance."

The impact player rule, introduced in 2023, allows teams to substitute one player from their playing XI with another from a list of five pre-nominated players. It has been widely debated, with critics arguing that it has boosted scoring rates and reduced opportunities for bowlers to influence matches.

Tendulkar also proposed changes to the Powerplay structure in T20 cricket, suggesting a split system to give captains more control over field settings and game flow:

"[In] the Powerplay of six overs with field restrictions, only two fielders are allowed outside the ring. Let the first four overs be batters' Powerplay with the same field restrictions, and post that, the remaining two Powerplay overs should be determined by the fielding captain as and when he wants to take. Those two consecutive overs will also get one fielder extra outside the ring at any stage of the game," Tendulkar, who was voted the greatest batter of the 21st century at the awards by a jury of 25 eminent cricketers, said. "So you [the fielding side] are able to control the game better."

He also suggested an additional change to bowling limits, advocating for leading bowlers to have more overs per spell:

"One bowler should be allowed to bowl five overs. Because invariably the best bowler of the side is going to bowl that fifth over. Wouldn't you want to see that best bowler bowl more? The top batters are batting sometimes even 20 overs. Why shouldn't the best bowler be bowling five overs?"

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has previously suggested trialling such changes in lower-level competitions, while Tom Moody and Ian Bishop have instead called for more balanced pitches to ensure a fair contest between bat and ball.