Rohit Sharma ‘not a fan’ of IPL’s Impact Player rule

India captain Rohit Sharma has expressed concern over the Impact Player rule utilised in the Indian Premier League (IPL), opining that it limits the exposure of skillsets of certain all-rounders who would otherwise make a strong case for inclusion in India's national side for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in June.   

India, for instance, with all their resources, do not yet have a fast-bowling all-rounder apart from Hardik Pandya. Rohit made it clear he does not endorse the Impact Player Rule which -- in effect since the IPL's 2023 season -- allows a team to replace a player after the toss.

"I genuinely feel that it is going to hold back. It is not good for the all-rounders. Eventually, cricket is played by 11 players not 12 players. I am not a big fan of 'Impact Player', you are taking out so much from the game just because of little bit of entertainment, for people around," Rohit Sharma said while speaking to Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist's YouTube show Club Frairie Fire.

"...I can give you so many examples, guys like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl. For us , it is not a good thing you know. I don't know what you can do about it but I am not a fan of it, frankly speaking," he continued to explain.

"If you bat well, don't lose wickets, you can add another bowler, you have 6-7 bowlers and you don't need an extra batter if teams are batting well upfront. You hardly see a no.7 or 8 coming in to bat," added the Mumbai Indians opener, whose side occupy seventh spot in the 10-team tournament after having played seven matches.

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan echoed similar sentiments.

"I completely agree it's debatable, little concern for sure. But we need to find a way on how to deal with it. In Impact Player rule you will find half all-rounders but not a complete one," Zaheer said.