The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway on March 22, 2024, with a blockbuster clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the iconic M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
As always, the excitement is at an all-time high among fans! The upcoming season of the cash-rich league will see the introduction of two-bouncer/over rule, which is likely to change the dynamics substantially.
Additionally, the T20 league will continue to persist with the Impact Player rule.
What is the Impact Player rule?
The previous season of the IPL saw the introduction of the Impact Player rule. According to this rule, each team nominates five substitutes at the toss. One of these five substitutes can be used as an Impact Player. The said player can be used as a full-time bowler or batter throughout the match.
Last year, we saw several teams taking advantage of the Impact Player rule, and one can expect the same this year.
How to use the Impact Player rule?
Each captain will nominate five substitutes at the time of the toss.
One of these five substitutes can later be named as the Impact Player.
Each team is allowed a maximum of one Impact Player per match.
The Impact Player can only be invoked during any of the natural breaks. This includes, at the start of the innings, between overs, at the end of the first innings, at the fall of wicket or when a batter retires.
However, if a team brings in their Impact Player after the fall of wicket or in the event of a batter retiring during an over, the incoming player cannot bowl the remaining deliveries of the over.
If a team has fielded four overseas players in their original XI, they can only bring an Indian as their Impact Player.
Here's full list of Impact players used in IPL 2024:
| Match No | Date | Match | Impact Players Used |
| 1 | 22-03-2024 | CSK vs RCB | Shivam Dube for Mustafizur Rahman, Yash Dayal for Dinesh Karthik |
