‘It’s fine for now but all-rounders could lose at out at some stage’, says Phillips on Impact Player Rule

The Impact Player rule in the IPL is working at the moment but it could pose issues for the development of all-rounders at some stage, reckons New Zealand and Gujarat Titans all-rounder Glenn Phillips.The rule has divided opinions but the BCCI has extended it to at least the 2027 edition.
It essentially gives teams the license to go hard from ball one with the cushion of an extra batter in the form of an Impact Player. Similarly, teams can also bring in a special bowler instead of an all-rounder.
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“I’m neither here nor there for it. It definitely allows a lineup to do different things. But I do feel like there could be an issue at some stage with all-rounders losing out and not being so prevalent, which then obviously has an impact on international game, international T20s, international one days,” the Blackcaps cricketer told PTI.
“So for now, it’s a great entertaining brand of cricket. But I think what the IPL has done really well is changed the rules to what the environment is going through.
“So, obviously, the impact player rule is working at the moment, but then they could very well have another rule that comes in and go off with the impact player rule and bring another entertainment element into the game,” said Phillips, arguably the best fielder in the modern game.
Last season, Rohit Sharma said he was not a fan of the impact player as it hinders the growth of Indian all-rounders. Ahead of the 2025 edition, Hardik Pandya said it is difficult to draft a developing all-rounder in the starting eleven unless one is a pure all-rounder like him.Story continues below this ad
Phillips also backed the lifting of saliva ban ahead of the IPL 2025.
“You know, we’ve brought saliva back this year, which obviously will potentially enhance reverse swing as well. The bowlers need to be able to have something going for them if there’s an extra batter going around.
“So I think that’s what the IPL has done really well. So not necessarily the impact player per se, but the rules that they changed to keep it fresh and new,” he added.
Now, the bowlers can use saliva to polish the ball in the league, to try and get some reverse swing going at least in the business end of an innings.Story continues below this ad
On the two-year ban imposed the BCCI for last minute pullouts of foreign players from the IPL, Phillips said it was fair enough.
“At the end of the day, they warned people, if you come in and you decide to go, that they knew about the rules to start. If the rules weren’t there, I think it would be a bit harsh, but the rule is there.” Harry Brook was banned from the IPL for the current and next season following his late withdrawal.