The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were left handicapped and had their best bowler, Mohsin Khan, watching from the bench as their 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went into the Super Over. The Super Giants lost the match in the one-over shootout, which was bowled by Prince Yadav, but it raised broader concerns over how several teams were ignoring a key rule while using their impact sub option.
Mohsin was the star of the show for LSG with the ball as he took the first five-wicket haul of his IPL career. The left-arm pacer finished with figures of 5/23. This included several big dismissals, as he got five of the first wickets KKR lost. The 27-year-old dismissed Tim Seifert, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, and Anukul Roy.
Rishabh Pant made optimal usage of Mohsin, who was in red-hot form and finished his spell in the 11th over. Just as the pacer completed his quota of overs, he was subbed off as the franchise decided to use their impact sub and bring on Himmat Singh. The move was made to have a better fielder on the ground.
However, LSG will later realize it was an ill-advised call, as the decision left them without their best bowler of the night in the one-over tiebreak.
Once a player is subbed off, he is no longer considered a part of the playing XI. In a super over, only players that are part of the XI at that time are allowed to bat or bowl. This means that Mohsin was not eligible to bowl. Although LSG might have still chosen Prince, who has been their most consistent bowler this season, one would assume a team would want their best bowler on the evening as an option to choose from, especially after he took a five-wicket haul.
While in LSG's case, who bowled that over would not have made a difference, as they had only one run on the board after Sunil Narine took two wickets in three balls in the Super Over by dismissing Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram. Rinku Singh ensured the Knight Riders chased the target on the first ball.
However, it serves as a warning to all 10 teams in the IPL to be more cautious while deciding which player they are removing. Teams must not ignore the possibility that a Super Over is possible and must not remove bowlers (if batting second) or batters (if bowling second) they would want to use in case a match ends in a tie.
Even in KKR's case, Varun Chakarvarthy was an impact sub in the first innings, and if they were bowling second and they removed him, he would not have been eligible to bowl. Similarly, SRH had kept Travis Head as an impact sub during their last fixture against RR.
This is an issue veteran commentator Aakash Chopra raised a few weeks back and claimed that teams are thinking about the possibility of a super over happening.
"You are subbing players out as soon as their batting or bowling is over. Jacob Duffy and Jasprit Bumrah were subbed out. Travis Head was subbed out and Mitchell Marsh was subbed out yesterday. Mitchell Marsh batted very well, but he was subbed out in the first innings. Are you not thinking at all that a Super Over might happen?," said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
