India, April 22 -- As the IPL ecosystem continues to evolve, the importance of bench strength and substitutions is visibly increasing. While traditional metrics continue to hold weight, the impact player rule is helping players influence games - through efficiency, adaptability, or simply, clever use of players.

The impact player rule introduced in 2023, was essentially viewed as a tactical tool toadd depth for teams. It allows teams to list five substitutes after the toss out of which they can choose one, depending on what the match demands.

According to CricViz's Match Impact model thatevaluates the effectiveness of the performances of players and teams in a game, Punjab Kings top the model with the highest Average Match Impact Value ...