Overview
- Ajinkya Rahane publicly called for the rule to be removed in comments published Saturday, saying teams have used the substitute to add batters at the expense of bowlers.
- Independent ball‑by‑ball analyses cited in coverage show overs bowled by players who bat in the top seven have fallen sharply since the rule began and scoring rates have risen across the tournament.
- Reporters linked the rule to a jump in high totals, with the tournament run rate rising from about 8.54 RPO in 2022 to about 9.88 RPO in 2026 and 200‑plus team totals increasing markedly.
- Other senior figures are split: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel have warned it reduces all‑rounder roles, while Dinesh Karthik says the rule should stay for IPL 2027 because squads were built with it in mind.
- The Impact Player rule remains active under guidelines that run through the 2027 cycle, leaving any formal change to be decided after the cycle or following the next auction and raising questions about roster construction and national‑team development.