The 2025 Indian Premier League will begin on Saturday (March 22) with a blockbuster clash between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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The 2025 season is a milestone for the world’s richest league as the IPL turns 18. Since the inaugural season in 2008, the league has not just changed the dynamics of world cricket but also become the second most valued sporting league in the world, only behind the United States of America-based National Football League (NFL).
While the quality of cricket is almost as good as international cricket in the IPL, the rules of the tournament are slightly different. The biggest difference is the Impact Player Rule, which, despite resistance, with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma publicly calling for it to be removed.
What Is The Impact Player Rule And When Can It Be Used
The 2025 season will mark the third successive season that the impact player rule will used after its introduction in 2023. The provision essentially means that all teams now play with 12 players instead of 11. A team can replace any player from the original starting XI with a substitute at any point at any point of the match from after the first ball of the first innings to before the last ball of the second innings.
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Both teams are allowed to name their playing XI after the toss instead of the system followed in other formats where the captains submit their line-ups before the coin toss. Essentially both captains walk out with a batting first XI and a bowling first XI.
Alongside their main XI, the teams also name five substitutions. The impact player can be chosen between any of those five players at any point during the match either in the first or second innings.
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Tushar Deshpande holds the distinction of being the IPL’s first-ever impact after he replaced Ambati Rayudu during Chennai Super Kings’ opening fixture of the 16th edition against Gujarat Titans.
