“The balance is off”: Virat Kohli’s honest opinion on the Impact Player rule. cricket news

Echoing India captain Rohit Sharma’s sentiments, star batsman Virat Kohli has criticized the impact player substitution rule, saying it is “disturbing the balance” of the game. The mid-innings substitution rule adopted in the previous edition of the IPL had sparked controversy and Rohit had expressed his displeasure in a podcast last month. Now Kohli has requested to reconsider this rule. “I agree with Rohit. Entertainment is one aspect of the game but there is no balance,” Kohli said on Jio Cinema.

“I think this has thrown the balance off and it’s not just me, a lot of people feel that way,” he said.

Rohit had said in the podcast, “I am not a big fan… It will hold all-rounders back. Cricket is played not by 11 but by 12 (players).” Punjab Kings set a record for the most successful chase in T20 history when they chased down Kolkata Knight Riders’ 262 with eight balls to spare.

Sunrisers Hyderabad also broke the record of the highest score ever in franchise cricket by scoring 287/3 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

This edition has seen scores over 250 eight times and Kohli felt the pain of the bowlers.

Kohli said, “The bowlers are feeling what they need to do.”

“I have never experienced anything where bowlers think they will hit four or six every ball.

“Not every team has a mystery like Bumrah (Jasprit) or Rashid Khan,” he said.

“I am telling you, there is a reason why I am playing with an extra batsman, with a strike rate over 200 in the powerplay. I know there is a batsman waiting at No. 8 as well.

Kohli said, “We are playing a high level of cricket and in my opinion it should not be so impressive. It is a beauty to have the same balance between bat and ball.”

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has said that the impact player rule is a “test case”, which has been implemented to give two Indian players a chance in a game.

They have also indicated that they will talk to stakeholders about using it in future editions of the IPL.

“I am sure Jay (Shah) bhai has already mentioned that they will review it and I am sure they will come to a conclusion which will bring the game into balance,” Kohli said.

Kohli said, “As a batsman, I can say that this rule is good but the match should be exciting. Only fours and sixes are not exciting in cricket. What is exciting is that you can also defend 160.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)