According to reports, bowlers will be able to shine the cricket ball in the upcoming Indian Premier League ( IPL), replacing the ban that was put in place five years ago during the Covid pandemic.
A majority of the company captains of the Indian cricket team met on Thursday to discuss the decision, according to ESPNcricinfo, and the decision came after the Indian cricket governing body made the decision.
While the pandemic was affecting health guidance, a temporary ban on saliva was put in place in May 2020. Sweeping is still permitted during the outbreak. In September 2022, the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) declared the ban in effect.
Players polish one aspect of the ball with saliva and sweat to make it jump in the air.
To lessen the chance of the Covid infections being transmitted, mucus was prohibited.
Saliva assists fast bowlers in maintaining the bowler’s shine, creating an imbalance that supports swing, a crucial component of india’s ball mechanics for more than a century.
Additionally, it aids in bowlers ‘ slow swing, where the ball moves in the opposite direction as expected. This is especially crucial in clean environments or when using older balls.
Saliva is more effective in red-ball cricket, which is commonly practiced in Checks, than in white-ball competitions, such as ODIs and T20s.
The longer the ball is played, allowing bowlers to glow one side and aid in the generation of the slow swing, in red-ball cricket.
Following the Indian cricket board’s decision to remove the saliva ban for the world’s richest T20 league, it is unclear whether the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) will reinstate it. Jay Shah, the former head of the world’s richest bowling board, is now in charge of the ICC.
The amendment will take effect on Saturday when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR ), the 18th edition of the IPL, takes on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Eden Gardens. In the course of two months, the game will have 74 matches in 13 cities.
Mohammed Siraj, an Indian fast bowling who plays for the Gujarat Titans company, welcomed the choice.
” It’s outstanding information for us batsmen because applying mouth to the game will make it more likely to make a slow swing,” Siraj told the Press Trust of India news agency.
It occasionally helps with reverse jump because it doesn’t work [to get backward swing ] when you scrubbing the game against the shirt. However, it is crucial to maintain [the shine on one side ] by applying mouth to the game.
Another strong spinner from India, Mohammed Shami, earlier this month, petitioned the ICC to lift the ban.
He remarked following India’s Champions Trophy semi-final victory over Australia that” we keep urging that we be allowed to employ saliva to bring backward swing back into the game and make it interesting.”
Former world champion cricketers Vernon Philander and Tim Southee backed Shami’s appeal.
Indian legend R Ashwin, who recently retired from foreign bowling, recently claimed that he too was perplexed by the restrictions.
” In response to the findings of ICC’s research papers, it was determined that saliva did not significantly affect slow swing and that it had never had a significant impact on ball performance. He said on his YouTube channel that he doesn’t know how they conducted the research, but mouth may be permitted if it isn’t a problem.
Sports poet Sharda Ugra claims that the elimination of the saliva ban may increase the level of play between the bat and ball.
Some people think that bowlers in T20 teams with batter-friendly wickets face a stacked field against them. The highest Tournament overall, which was 263 for 5 against Pune in 2013, was surpassed four periods in 2024. There have been 10 tallies over 250 works in 17 months.
But, Ugra adds that it’s unclear how much of an impact bowling may have once the ban is lifted.
Saliva is not the only factor in bounce generation; it also needs to be perfect, and a competent bowling is essential, she told the BBC.
Some original fast bowlers, such as Venkatesh Prasad from India, also reacted with caution when it came to change.
” The mouth application restrictions was also about keeping things clean. Whatever you occur right now; we don’t know how many times a new virus can enter the air and when. Therefore, I believe you need to be extremely cautious when deciding whether to lift the ban, Prasad told The Times of India earlier this month.