The second match of the sixteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway on Saturday as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) locked horns at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. KKR captain, Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to bowl first. Both teams selected the best playing XI with available players.
Also Read: PBKS vs KKR 2023 Live Score | IPL 2023 Live Score | IPL 2023 Points Table
With the new impact player rule also in place, KKR and PBKS also identified a few names as their potential impact player. However, fans were left confused after seeing overseas names in the list from both camps. While KKR had David Wiese in their impact player list, PBKS named Matthew Short a potential impact player.
The fans could not fathom this as the impact rule states "Impact Player can only be an Indian player unless the franchise has fewer than four overseas players in the Playing XI." As KKR and PBKS both had four overseas players in their starting XI, seeing overseas names in the impact player list felt ‘absurd’ to the fans. There were plenty of questions being asked on social media.
With so much debate on this new impact player rule, a user came forward to explain how KKR and PBKS included overseas players on their impact player list.
“To clarify, the Overseas players named in SUBS are essentially only for SUBSTITUTE FIELDERS. And that too only to replace an overseas player from the XI. Can't be impact player, can't replace an Indian as a sub fielder,” tweeted a user.
So, the list announced by PBKS and KKR was actually for potential substitute players. Out of these five names, one of them could come in as an impact really, as per the rule. David Wiese (for KKR) and Matthew Short (for PBKS) could only come in as substitute fielders for their teams and that too for an overseas player.