‘Don’t Bring Impact Substitute Rule to International Cricket’ – Heinrich Klaasen

South African wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen has urged not to bring the Impact Substitute Rule to International Cricket.

Klaasen believes the rule undermines the need for strategic batting and creativity, especially in international cricket.

While playing for SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, Klaasen himself benefitted from the high-scoring environment created by the Impact Player Rule.

However, he argues that the freedom it grants batters comes at the cost of thoughtful batting decisions.

“The Impact sub rule allowed batsmen to play with much more freedom,” Klaasen said in an interview with SportsBoom. “In the IPL, you are measured by the number of sixes you hit and your strike rate. That’s your bread and butter, and no one worries about your average.”

Klaasen fears that if implemented in international cricket, the Impact Player Rule would disrupt the balance of the game. With teams potentially having strong batters even at number nine, bowlers and all-rounders would face a huge disadvantage.

“It frees up the batting side too much, and you can have a batsman at number nine with it, so there’s no need for anyone to hang around,” he explained. “It takes away the creativity of batting; it takes away smart batting.”

Heinrich Klaasen is just the latest addition to the long list of cricketers who are against impact substitute rule. Earlier, the Delhi Capitals head coach, Ricky Ponting, and Indian captain, Rohit Sharma also opposed the rule.