DC vs KKR IPL 2023: Venkatesh Iyer’s comeback story marred by Impact Player rule | Cricket News – Times of India

KKR star can’t showcase all-round skills in WC year
NEW DELHI: In 18 months, Venkatesh Iyer has been on a roller-coaster ride. He was India’s big seam-bowling allrounder hope only to be sidelined, and now he is recovering from a freak injury and trying to get back into the national reckoning.
The 104 against Mumbai Indians in the last game may seem a big step towards waking up the selectors. But his prospects may have been marred by the IPL’s Impact Player rule. He has invariably been Kolkata Knight Riders’ designated Impact Player so far in this IPL.

His steady seam bowling was his big calling card when he burst on to the scene in the second half of the IPL in 2021. His emergence coincided with Hardik Pandya’s inability to bowl at full tilt and fading form with the bat.
A year on, when he is trying to get back in the mix, Hardik is already leading India in the T20 format whereas Iyer barely getting a bowl for KKR.

“Honestly, with Impact players, the number of overs an allrounder was bowling has dropped down drastically. Obviously, if a team has a specialist bowler as their sixth bowler, they don’t want to try their allrounder. This is what the Impact Player rule has brought. It has lessened the utility of allrounders,” Iyer said on the eve of KKR’s match against Delhi Capitals. “I am 100 per cent ready to bowl. I was given clearance by the NCA.”
The dearth of seam-bowling allrounders in India is still a relevant issue. There’s no definite backup for Hardik yet. His flourishing knocks for KKR up the order notwithstanding, Iyer could be accommodated only in the late middle-order for India. He has been aware of the scenario and has preferred to bat down the order for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket.

As India struggle to find a steady sixth-bowling option in white-ball formats in an ODI World Cup year, Iyer is grappling with a new regulation.
“It’s a very interesting rule. The think-tank is so big in every team that they might have figured it out in the very first match itself. By now everyone knows how to use the Impact Player. If you see the results, the Impact Players is turning out to be an X-factor,” Iyer said.

The ‘Impact Player’ rule has come at a very interesting time in Indian cricket. While its objective is to help cricket become a global sport at par with football and basketball, its purpose in Indian cricket at this moment is likely to pose more challenges to find effective allrounders for international assignments, especially with an ODI World Cup and a T20 World Cup due to be played in 12 months.

Iyer, though, is just happy to be back on the field. “The most pleasing thing is not the runs I am scoring, it’s the fact that I am back on the field and playing in such a big tournament. Scoring and all is secondary, I am grateful to the almighty that I am just able to play,” he claimed. He is doing his part in ensuring he is not forgotten as quickly as it happens in Indian cricket these days.
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