"I am not a huge fan of the Impact Player rule" - Axar Patel

Delhi Capitals' (DC) Axar Patel expressed his discontentment at the Impact Player rule on Monday, saying all teams prefer to deploy specialist batters and bowlers as substitutes via the rule which diminishes his and other all-rounders' roles.

The Impact Player rule has been in action since IPL 2023 but it's only this year that a lot of national and international players have voiced their concerns about it. Most all-rounders have stopped bowling in IPL 2024 because they don't need to while batting totals and bowlers' economy rates are soaring at all-time highs.

"I am not a huge fan of the Impact Player rule," Axar said at a DC media interaction for a select group of journalists. "Teams either use proper batters or proper bowlers but no body is using all-rounders. So I am not a fan of it."

DC, too, have tended to use specialist young batters ahead of Axar this season which has pushed him back in the batting order, affecting his usual returns.

The spinning all-rounder said that although he has spoken to the team management about batting up the order, it isn't possible because they want to allow the youngsters to bat in their favorite positions at this early stage of their IPL careers. Axar, being the senior pro, thus, often remains the only one to take up the finishing role.

The 30-year-old also spoke about its effects on his bowling, saying:

"Whoever is making the rules is thinking that only batting will decide where the game would go (smiles). It has obviously become very difficult for bowlers. But the way I see it is, there's pressure but there's also opportunity to do well in such situations and using your skills."

"Because of the Impact Player rule, there's an extra player. Teams think that if the batting doesn't do well, they can get an extra batter and if it does well, they'll get an extra bowler. So, whoever comes in starts hitting from the first ball. I am seeing this from the last two years that no one likes to take time because they know they can have batters till number seven or eight."

When asked about how difficult it is as a bowler to witness an assault from both ends, Axar said he doesn't look at it that way to avoid negative manifestation. Instead, he said, he tries to focus on his strengths and plans to get the batters out.

"I don't watch matches" - Axar Patel

Axar further said that to avoid the pressure of national selection, he neither sets goals for himself nor does he follow other matches in the tournament.

"I don't watch matches! (laughs) There are so many matches going on so I don't watch. At the end, I just check the scores. I have been playing cricket for so long and in the last few years it has always been the case that there's either a World Cup or a big series after the IPL. I am so used to it and you can also see my World Cup record with injuries (smiles)... so I just remain relaxed and not think too much except that I just need to do well here and the road ahead will form itself," Axar remarked.

The spinner and DC will be in action on Wednesday (April 24) when they take on the Gujarat Titans.