IPL 2026: Shubman Gill criticises Impact Player rule, warns of one-dimensional cricket

India and Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill has criticised the Impact Rule used in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the upcoming season of the tournament. The Impact Player rule was brought in the IPL from the 2023 season onwards, under which teams can replace one of the players in their playing XI with an impact substitute at any time during the match.

The move, in a way, allows teams to play with 12 players, reducing the role of all-rounders in the tournament. Recently, ahead of the upcoming season, Shubman Gill was asked about his thoughts on the rule, and the GT skipper expressed his reservations about it, explaining how it takes the skill out of the game.

"Personally, for me, I don't think there should be an impact player. I think cricket in general is an 11-player game. And on wickets where we play, on the grounds that we play, adding an extra batsman, I think it takes the skill out of the game," Gill said during the Gujarat Titans’ pre-season press conference.

Gill further mentioned how it makes the game one-dimensional by taking the necessary skills of rebuilding an innings away from batters.

"There is a certain skill in the game that you need to have. When you know you have a certain amount of batters, and if a couple of your batters get out, there is an amount of skill that you need to have to still get the scoreboard moving and get your team to a good score. I think with that one extra player it's making the game more one-dimensional and it's taking a little bit of the skill out of the game. Chasing 180 on a challenging wicket or 160 on a challenging wicket is for me personally way more exciting than chasing 220 on a flat wicket,” he added.

Gill also revealed how several captains spoke against the rule at the captain’s meet and left it up to the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to decide on its continuation beyond 2027. 

“So I mean it's going to be there till 2027. It's something that we also spoke about in the captain's meeting yesterday. And hopefully you know I understand it makes the game a bit more entertaining, but let's see it's there, it's up to them, what the BCCI is going to... they are going to take their decision. But personally, I don't like it that much,” he added.

Effects of Impact Player in IPL

Ever since the Impact Player rule came into being, IPL has witnessed teams shattering all run-scoring records over the past two seasons. The 250-run mark has been breached a whopping eleven times over the last three years, which was touched only once before 2023. The record for most sixes in a single edition has been broken every season over the past four years, which stood at 1062 sixes in 2022, 1124 in 2023, 1260 in 2024, and was finally raised to 1294 sixes in 2025, that too in a lesser number of matches than the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

The same can be said for the average run rate in the IPL over the last three seasons, which has again experienced a significant increase. It stood at 8.99 runs per over in 2023, 9.56 in 2024 and rose to 9.62 in 2025. Hence, the effect of the Impact player rule is quite apparent in the IPL, and it remains to be seen if the BCCI will continue with it after the current cycle, which ends in 2027.

Meanwhile, IPL 2026 is all set to begin on March 28, while the Gujarat Titans will start their campaign against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 31 in Mullanpur.