BCCI Scraps Impact Player Rule For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024: BCCI has formally communicated that the ‘Impact Player’ rule will not be implemented for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024 season. This announcement was made to all the state associations on October 14, 2024. It brought about major changes to the tournament structure.
The introduction of the ‘Impact Player’ rule, was first brought into play in the SMAT in the 2020 season. It enabled the teams to replace any of the match players with additional players at any moment of the match. This could be referred to as football fate style. Although this rule was adopted to give a more tactical edge in games, it has had its share of heated debates from players and coaches who felt calm and said that it is a limiting factor in practicing all-rounders and advantages to none of the bowlers.
Although this rule has been removed from the SMAT, the BCCI has retained the ‘Impact Player’ rule for the IPL 2025. It has been credited with increasing excitement and competitiveness in recent league editions. Not everyone deems the changes for good, believing that they alter the conventional core of T20 cricket.
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More alterations in the SMAT format are predicted to enhance the very age-old aspects of the game. There are equal debts of the game from the specialist players as well as the all-rounders. Teams are structured in that manner.
