I don’t like the Impact Player rule: Axar Patel ahead of IPL 2026

Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel said he is personally not in favour of the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), stating that it diminishes the importance of all-rounders in the 10-team tournament, with its 19th edition starting March 28. The Impact Player rule, introduced in 2023, allows teams to substitute either a batter or a bowler at any stage during an innings.

Speaking at the pre-season press conference on Monday, Axar admitted that the regulation has changed the way teams approach team combinations.

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“I don’t like this rule, honestly, because I am an all-rounder. Earlier, you would pick an allrounder for batting and bowling. But because of this rule, the team management goes for a particular batsman or bowler, thinking ‘Why do we need an allrounder?’ Since I am an allrounder, I don’t like the rule. At the same time, rules are rules and we need to follow them. From a personal point of view though, I don’t like the rule,” said Axar.

DC will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 1. This is not the first time Axar has voiced his displeasure over the rule. In 2024, while serving as DC’s vice-captain, he voiced similar concerns over the Impact Player rule affecting his batting position.

Despite maintaining a career IPL economy rate of 7.3, Axar experienced his least productive bowling season since joining DC in 2019. During IPL 2025, he conceded runs at 8.5 per over and picked up just five wickets in 11 innings.

However, the two-time T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder clarified that his modest bowling returns were the result of a finger injury sustained during India’s victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign earlier that year, and not due to the Impact Player rule.

“The 2025 Champions Trophy was right before the IPL. During CT, my spinning finger sustained a cut: when I was bowling, because of the seam of the ball, it kept getting cut further. It turned into a deep cut. Because of that, I couldn’t put pressure and rotation on the ball.

“I was bowling less because of that and was thinking of bowling only wherever needed and saving my finger. After seven matches, when my finger healed, I resumed bowling. It was not because of the Impact Player rule,” he said.

However, Axar made valuable contributions with the bat during IPL 2025, amassing 263 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 158, including four scores of over 30, striking at 159 during the middle overs to provide momentum to DC’s innings.

Since IPL 2025, his T20I batting returns have been relatively modest, with 167 runs at an average of 18.6 and a strike rate of 119. However, he has continued to be effective with the ball, claiming 26 wickets at an economy rate of 7.7. His ability to contribute in difficult situations has earned him the reputation of being a ‘crisis-man’ for the team.

“You’ve seen me be the same for so many years: whatever the team requires, I do that. That’s why the tag of crisis-man has come up. I take up the role as per the team’s requirement, be it a finisher or a middle-order batter. We keep discussing: if a person is scoring four in two, or twelve in two, or 80 runs as an opener: all those roles are important for the team.

“I go with the same mindset again and again: whatever needs to be done, I will play that role. It’s because if you don’t get what you want, you will only get angry and disappointed and the same thing will affect your game. That’s why I keep the team’s priorities at the forefront. When you are open to that, you give your 100 percent,” he added.