Rohit Sharma at a promotional event for Mumbai Indians© NDTV
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday backed the new “impact player” rule that will come into force in the upcoming Indian Premier League T20 tournament. The regulation will allow a substitute to come in to bat and bowl, but he can only be an Indian unless there are fewer than four overseas players in a team. “It’s interesting to have new innovations coming into the game,” Rohit told reporters before the IPL season starts on Friday. “Only time will tell what happens and how the team will cope with this new rule, but I like the idea of an impact player coming in and changing your team after the toss.”
He said five-time IPL winners Mumbai will “luckily” be able to see how other teams use the new rule since four other matches will be played before their opening game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
Other innovations include captains being allowed to announce their XI after the toss — which decides which team bats first — and then nominate an impact player from among the five substitutes listed with the playing XI.
Mumbai’s new head coach Mark Boucher also welcomed the idea of changing the team after the toss, saying it will be “quite influential”. “Especially in India the dew plays a big part if you are playing in night time,” the South African said.
Other new rules include teams being able to review umpires’ decisions on no-balls and wides using the computerised Decision Review System.
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