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Indian Legend Sachin Tendulkar has proposed three major rule changes to restore the balance between bat and ball in T20 cricket and the IPL. The main pointers include scrapping the impact sub rule, letting only one bowler bowl 5 overs, and lastly introducing two powerplays (4 overs for the batting team & 2 overs for the bowling team with 1 extra fielder outside during bowling powerplay).
The impact player rule no doubt has shattered T20 run-scoring records. In the first 15 years of the IPL, a 200-plus total was a rarity. Following the rule's implementation, these massive totals have more than tripled, only giving advantage to batters. All-rounders (who both bat and bowl in the same match) have lost strategic value. Teams generally swap specialist batters for specialist bowlers, which restricts part-timers from getting a fair chance. Emergence of Specialists: Because teams effectively get an extra, deeper batting or bowling lineup, scores of 240-250 have become incredibly common, making the games have nothing for bowlers.
Sachin Tendulkar wishes to bring the balance in T20s/IPL: [Espn Cricinfo] 1) Impact Player rule needs to go. 2) One bowler to bowl 5 overs. 3) Two Powerplay: 4 overs for batting team & 2 overs for bowling team with 1 extra fielder outside during bowling Powerplay. pic.twitter.com/2QfFRCNcwV
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 30, 2026
The master blaster thus suggested that games should go on fair shares from next season, giving fair chances to bowlers. Not only him, but many other veterans and experts over time have been vocal about these changes. Such changes would definitely deter the game from just having high scores, and bowlers can strategise better along with the captain.
‘I am not a fan,’ Rohit Sharma expressed his dislike for Impact Player Rule
Not only Sachin Tendulkar but other prominent voices speaking out against the ‘Impact Player’ rule include Rohit Sharma, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, and Kieron Pollard. Although the rule was introduced in IPL 2023 as a strategic move for teams, over time, especially in IPL 2026, people had growing discontent with it being an absolute ‘not needed’ rule in IPL.
Mumbai Indians' former captain and star player Rohit Sharma had also opposed the idea. "I'm not a big fan... It's going to hold back all-rounders. Cricket is played by 11, not 12," Rohit said in one of the podcasts. His Indian team-mate bowler Mohammad Siraj too had supported Rohit, pleading to remove the rule as he expressed the fact that pitches are already flat nowadays, having nothing much for bowlers, and this rule only makes things worse.
