The ‘Impact Player’ rule might not be a purist’s cup of tea, but it could well become Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bread and butter.
While the team had trouble with the rule at first, injuries to a couple of core members have inadvertently helped them.
With Faf du Plessis suffering from grade-one intercostal strain and Harshal Patel injuring the little finger on his left hand, RCB replaced the opening bat with the pacer in their previous encounter against Rajasthan Royals to positive effect.
Not only did the call help RCB shield their resources while still getting the best out of their primary roles, but it also resulted in a 7-run win and a jump to the fifth spot on the table.
In melding destructiveness with dependability, Du Plessis currently wears the Orange Cap with 405 runs from seven games with a strike rate of 165.30, and a largely off-colour Harshal seems to have hit his stride again with his best figures (3/32) coming in the previous fixture.
Given the circumstances and favourable data from a couple of days ago, expect similar utilisation of the rule when the M Chinnaswamy stadium plays host to the purple and gold of the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday.
But, what this substitute strategy forces - for better or for worse - is for Virat Kohli to don the role of skipper.
It’s not a role Kohli is unfamiliar with, after all, he was entrusted with the position for nine seasons, but given that he relinquished the designation after the 2021 season citing fatigue and a lack of belief in his ability to lead the side, the dressing room dynamic must be peculiar.
Not that Du Plessis - the designated skipper - will mind role swap very much given the situation, but who decides the direction in which the team moves? A democratic process? Unlikely.
Besides keeping the potential for strained relationships in mind, RCB will want to build on their two-game win streak and put away an opponent which has lost its last four contests and sits bleakly in eighth.
An interesting turn of events because the last time these sides met at Eden Gardens, KKR hammered RCB by 81 runs - their worst loss this season. And now, RCB could put KKR away even on a bad day, or so it seems.
That’s not to say RCB are that good (their batting is too top-order dependent and bowling can look horrid on days), it’s more a reflection of KKR’s luckless run under Nitish Rana.
Despite their impressive bowling and batting resources, KKR are making a shoddy run of this for reasons they will want to identify sooner than later.
Either this game will give them the confidence they lack at the moment, or - and this seems more likely - RCB will flex their best at home before they hit the road for nearly a month.