"Not a massive fan": Gujarat Titans batter David Miller on Impact Player rule in IPL 2024
Apr 23, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 23 : Gujarat Titans batter David Miller believes that the much-discussed Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) should be eliminated.
The southpaw claimed that the rule has scrapped the roles of quality all-rounders. Earlier, in an interview on the 'Club Prairie Fire' podcast, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma highlighted that the quality of cricket is being sacrificed to meet the wants of the public.
Rohit criticised the 'Impact Player' guideline, arguing that it stifles the development of all-rounders. Several other well-known players, notably Miller, have stated their opposition to the rule.
The 'Impact Player' rule, which debuted in IPL 2023, allows teams to replace a player, either a batter or a bowler, during an innings based on the needs of the game. While the regulation is intended to allow tactical freedom in the game, several professional players, like David Miller, have expressed opposition to it.
"Everyone has got their opinions about it but for me I am not a massive fan of the rule. The game of cricket has 11 players and it would be nice to stick to that. Rohit said that international cricket is not like that and I feel it's better to keep it the same as international cricket. It's creating 6 bowlers and 8 batters, taking all-rounders out of contention. At the end of the rule is there so we have to play according to the rule," he said.
South Africa batter Miller believes the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies from June 2 would not include many high-scoring contests due to the slower quality of the wickets there.
"It would be hard to say whether the World Cup will produce high-scoring games because the conditions will be very different. The Caribbean might be on the slower side compared to Indian wickets. It's all about assessing the conditions on the day and playing accordingly," Miller said on the eve of their match against Delhi Capitals here. "We are not concerned about that (crossing 200-run mark). We played the Sunrisers, we beat them. I think it's different conditions for different grounds. At the end of the day we have 4 wins from 8, so we are very much there.
"We don't want to get caught up in what other teams are doing. We are sticking to our strength," he added.
Gujarat Titans have claimed four wins and suffered four defeats from eight games, GT are currently placed sixth in the standings.