Venkatesh Iyer, the in-form batter for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023, has expressed his views on the new impact player rule introduced in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League, saying that it has lessened the role of all-rounders in the team.
Iyer, who has scored 234 runs in the tournament so far, has been used by KKR as an impact player in all of their games. The young batter believes that the number of overs an all-rounder is bowling has dropped down drastically due to this rule.
"Obviously, if a team has a specialist bowler as their sixth bowler, then they don't want to try their all-rounder. This is what the Impact Player rule has brought - it has lessened the utility of all-rounders," Iyer said in the pre-match press conference.
Despite his views, Iyer feels that teams have become accustomed to the rule and have figured out how to use the impact player effectively. He also said that impact players have turned out to be an X factor in the tournament.
Iyer had recently scored a brilliant century in the tournament against Mumbai Indians, becoming just the second centurion for KKR in the IPL. Though Iyer insisted that he can bowl in the competition, he is currently grateful to be a part of the tournament and playing on the field.
"I am 100 per cent ready to bowl. I was given clearance by the NCA, and they don't clear you unless you have 100% recovered. But I think the most pleasing thing is not the runs that I am scoring. The thing is that I am back on the field and playing in such a big tournament," he said.
Iyer also talked about the similarities between T20 and 50-over cricket and said that the advent of free-flowing stroke-play in T20s has resulted in more scoring opportunities in 50-over cricket as well.
"In white-ball formats, they are very similar when it comes to stroke-making. The way teams are looking at run rate is pretty much similar. Any target is achievable, be it 20 over or 50 over. Due to T20 cricket, people are starting to look at 50-over cricket as an opportunity to score more," Iyer concluded.
As IPL 2023 progresses, it remains to be seen how the impact player rule affects the performances of all-rounders in the tournament.