Hazlewood no fan of IPL’s ‘impact player’ rule

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood joined the growing list of players who have expressed their dislike for the Indian Premier League's (IPL) 'impact player' rule, saying that it has led to scores of over 200 in almost every other game this season.

"I think it's just purely down to that impact [rule]," Cricket Australia quoted Hazlewood, who skipped this year's IPL due to the birth of his first child but has made himself available for the back-end of the tournament as a potential replacement player.

"Batting lineups just seem to be never-ending now. I'm not sure it's a great rule. The conditions have come into play a little bit lately with bowlers having a bit of impact, but I mean, you've got [batters] like Tim David at number eight, sometimes number nine.

"You don't really feel like you attack and try and get wickets in the Powerplay because what's the point when you've got those guys coming in at those eight, nine spots?

"Obviously the crowd loves it – there's 200-plus scores nearly every night – and it's good for batters, but it might need a bit of tinkering," he added.

When asked if he wants to see this rule applied elsewhere, Hazlewood responded, "I'm certainly not [keen for it to be used elsewhere]."