"If 12 players are not playing at international level, then what is the need of it in IPL?"

Following Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s comments on the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League, Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar have also spoken against it, saying it’s making things extremely difficult for bowlers. Michael Hussey said that this rule is making IPL games more "fun" to watch but admitted that it's "scary" for bowlers.

The Impact Player rule was first tried in the 2022-23 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before being introduced in the IPL last season. It's a rule which allows teams to bring in a 12th player at any point of the match and sub someone out in place of him.

"Whoever is making the rules, they are thinking that everything will work as per batter's convenience. Obviously, it has been difficult (for the bowlers). According to me, it's difficult but obviously you will have the opportunity as well that you can perform well in that situation, if you have the skills then how you can use them,” said Delhi Capitals’ all-rounder Axar.

"Because of the Impact sub rule, everyone gets one more batsman so they think that they will use the batsman in case, the batting unit doesn't go well. And whosoever comes to play, they don't take much time and start (hitting) from the first ball because they know that they have a player in seventh or eighth place.

"That is why I am not a big fan of the rule, because as an allrounder I know that they will either take a proper batsman or a bowler, not an allrounder."

The spin-bowling all-rounder also admitted that it’s affecting his batting position. "We (Rishabh), Dada (Sourav Ganguly) and Ricky (Ponting) have talked about it. I can play early, but if you want to give the chance to a young player, then you have to give them their position, but because of that (Impact Sub rule) I have to come down the order."

Axar's team-mate Mukesh also expressed his disappointment, saying: "If 12 players are not playing at the international level, then what is the need of it in IPL? With 12 players, even if four wickets are down, the next player is not scared of getting out or making the team stable, they come and play their shots. So either the nature of tracks should be changed or 12 players should not be allowed."

Meanwhile, David Warner said: "Well, the game is evolving, right? So I think people are just trying different things. If you got 15-16 people on the bench, you know you want to maximise as much as you can. Is the game going to change a lot in the next 10 years? It probably will.

"I feel like it's taken the all-round option out now. We are adapting as cricketers, so we're enjoying that and and it's also tactically when you're sitting on the bench, you know, if you're not scoring runs, then you can put that batsman in."

The CSK batting coach, Hussey focused both on the pros and cons of the Impact Player rule. "It's hard for bowlers, especially if the conditions are good for batting because the batting orders are lengthened and batsmen have more freedom to come out and continue to go hard," he said.

"So, it must be a great spectacle for the crowd to keep seeing these scores growing all the time and it probably puts a bigger emphasis on execution with the ball. It can be really difficult at times for bowlers but we've put a big focus on death bowling, particularly with the Impact Player (rule).

"I've been hearing some commentary on people favouring it and not in favour. I think from an entertainment and spectator point of view, it has been really good. From a cricket point of view, we can argue until the cows come home, really. I still think it has been quite good."

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