Star Indian all-rounder Akshar Patel is going to take over the captaincy of Delhi Capitals for the second consecutive year. Despite a good start last season, Delhi missed the playoffs. Now in IPL 2026, Akshar will hope to improve this performance and also take the team further. But before the start of the season, the Delhi captain has raised questions on a special rule made by BCCI and has clearly said that he does not like that rule. This is the rule – Impact Player, which will continue till at least the next season.
Impact player rule has been in force in IPL for the last 2 seasons and it will continue in this season also. While big scores have been seen in IPL since its inception, the role of all-rounders has also been seen to be decreasing and teams are using them less. This thing has been seen in the auction also. In the last two seasons, it has been clearly seen that teams are fielding a batsman or bowler as an impact player on most of the occasions. Due to this the importance of all-rounders has decreased.
Due to this, this rule is constantly under question and the debate on it has already started in this season too. Before the start of the tournament, captain Akshar Patel was asked about this in a press conference of Delhi Capitals. Being a star all-rounder himself, Patel expressed his unhappiness over this. He said, “I don’t like this rule because I am an all-rounder myself. Earlier all-rounders were selected but because of this rule the team management is selecting a batsman or a bowler.”
Akshar also expressed his helplessness regarding this and said, “I am also an all-rounder and that is why I do not like this rule. We have to accept the rules that are in our hands, but personally I do not like this rule.” The Impact Player rule was introduced in the 2024 season. But since then it has been continuously in controversies. Even legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have called this rule useless.