"Will Force Captains To Think More Tactically": Mitchell Starc On Impact Player Rule

Kolkata Knight Riders and Australia pacer Mitchell Starc believes not having Indian Premier League's Impact player rule will force the captains to think more tactically when the T20 World Cup begins in the Americas next month. The impact player rule, which was implemented last year, has witnessed teams batting with more aggression and fearlessness, leading to totals in excess of 200 being scored consistently.

The IPL this year has been particularly high-scoring with totals in excess of 250 being notched up at least on three instances.

"The impact player rule changes things a fair bit. Everyone gets to bat a lot deeper having a batting and a bowling XI," Starc told the media after KKR defeated Mumbai Indians by 24 runs here on Friday.

"I guess there's a lot made of that rule and there's been a lot of high scores, which is the nature of the wickets and the grounds we play on here. Impact player rule has had a fair part to play in that, when you are going to have batters and batting all-rounders come in at Nos 8 or 9, it's a long batting lineup.

"There's no fear in the powerplay when all you have to do is clear the infield and score runs. Certainly, there has been some really good batting, don't get me wrong, it's not just the rules that play a part there." Starc, who took 4/33 in KKR's win, said having no such rule in T20 World Cup could witness the impact on the scores.

"There's been some fantastic scoring, some fantastic partnerships and some individual brilliance with the bat. On the flip side, time (will) tell, we got the World Cup coming next month, there's no impact player rule. Whether that affects the scores, is yet to be seen,” he said.

“It probably will. There's been talk about balance of team and when you can't