‘No place for bits-and-pieces player now’ – Ricky Ponting explains how ‘Impact Player’ rule will change the game

Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting has opened up on the ‘Impact Player’ rule in the upcoming Indian T20 League 2023. For the unversed, the rule means that the team can call up a player from outside of the playing XI. The player must be Indian only, given that four foreign players play in the team. On the other hand, the ‘Impact Player’ can only be a foreigner if they have three overseas players in the XI.

Teams can choose five substitute players out of which the ‘Impact Player’ will be chosen. Meanwhile, Ponting has said that the team can now pick a batting or bowling-heavy team. He added that if they knew about this before the player auction, they would have built the team for the same.

“You don’t need to pick all-rounders now because you can name a batting or a bowling-heavy team and just take one out and bring the other in. Unless they’re absolutely world-class and they’re getting picked either as a batsman or as a bowler, and not as a bits-and-pieces player then I don’t see many teams this year use the guy that might bat at seven and bowl an over or two,” Ponting said.