The position of team mentor at Lucknow Super Giants became available following the departure of Gautam Gambhir in late 2023.Gambhir, who currently serves as the head coach of the Indian national team, vacated the post, paving the way for Zaheer Khan to step in and take on the mentorship responsibilities on Wednesday.
“There has been a debate around the impact sub rule. I’m going on record to say that I’m all for it,” Zaheer told reporters, as quoted by PTI, after he was unveiled as mentor at its team owner’s headquarters in Kolkata.
The impact substitute rule, which made its debut in IPL 2023, has generated a range of opinions among players and stakeholders.
Virat Kohli expressed his reservations about the rule last season, stating that it has disrupted the game’s balance. Similarly, India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that he was “not a big fan” of the impact player rule.
In a recent meeting between IPL team owners and BCCI officials, held in late July, there was a lack of agreement among the teams regarding the continuation of the impact player rule. The meeting also discussed other crucial matters, such as the possibility of conducting a mega auction.
However, the former Mumbai Indians’ player and the franchise’s current director of cricket held a different view. He asserted that the impact player rule has significantly benefited young Indian talents, providing them with valuable opportunities in the tournament.
“It has definitely given opportunities to a lot of uncapped Indian talents. It is something you will see this in the mega auction when teams will be looking at them,” he said.
“That opportunity goes a long way with improving Indian cricket on the whole. The time spent in match time, it’s something you cannot beat. That’s the biggest plus.”
“As far as all-rounders are concerned, right now there is no space for a half all-rounder because of the impact sub (rule). But if you are a genuine all-rounder, (then) no one can stop you. There is always going to be a value addition with the ability with bat and ball,” he added.