Former India batter Suresh Raina slammed the impact of the Impact Player substitution in the Indian Premier League (IPL), insisting that the extra batting options have inflated scores while putting more pressure on bowlers.

Raina, a bona fide IPL legend, played out his entire career in the league before the Impact Player was introduced in 2023. In the last four years, the collective batting strike rates have seen rapid spurts, soaring past the 150 mark. Teams must submit a list of five substitution options after the toss, after which they can introduce one at any point in the match.

“I am against the Impact player rule. A lot of fit players also bat and just sit down. There is nothing left for the bowlers. It is tough for bowlers. Even 300 is being scored. With extra batters, there will be pressure on the bowlers,” the former Chennai Super Kings batter said on a podcast with former India batter Aakash Chopra.

Raina, however, backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) mandate for Indian players, barring them from appearing in overseas franchise T20 leagues.

“I feel Indian players should not be allowed now. Our league has become very big. When we used to go on tours before, I used to ask this. I had come close to playing as well, but then they said no. Now a lot of outside players come here, and the quality of foreign leagues has also gone down. Back then, I would have definitely said yes. But at this time, we are ruling the world,” Raina added.

Raina, who ended his career as one of the highest run-scorers in the IPL, played 228 matches, scoring 5528 runs. A three-time IPL winner with CSK, Raina recorded one century and 39 fifties in the tournament across 14 years.