Hardik Pandya felt ‘Impact Player’ rule has actually made things difficult for captains.© AFP
Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has suggested that the ‘Impact Player’ rule can lead to situations where certain bowlers are underutilised. Defending champions GT kicked off their Indian Premier League title defense by beating Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener on Friday. After being put into bat, CSK posted a total of 178/7, which GT chased down with five wickets and four balls to spare. Speaking after the match, Hardik said that the ‘Impact Player’ rule has actually made things difficult for captains on the field.
“To be very honest, having this impact rule makes my job quite difficult because when you have too many options, you have to pick the right option, and I think because of this reason, someone will bowl less. I had to just pick and kind of back [my instinct], where I felt that going hard lengths was the plan for me, and it kind of worked, so yeah, some of the bowlers came late but they did the job for us,” Hardik said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat rode on Shubman Gill’s 36-ball 63 to achieve their target with four balls to spare at the world’s biggest cricket stadium and their homeground.
The 16th edition of the money-spinning T20 tournament began with a glitzy opening ceremony and fireworks at a ground which has an official capacity of 132,000.
Earlier, CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad silenced the home fans with a flurry of boundaries in his 92 off 50 balls.
During the match, CSK’s Tushar Deshpande created history by becoming the first ‘Impact Player’ in the history of IPL.
For GT, Sai Sudharsan also replaced Kane Williamson under the new “impact player” rule.
Gujarat pulled off a fairytale title win in their debut season last year in front of a record crowd of 101,566 at the same venue.
(With AFP Inputs)
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