At a time when ICC is contemplating to prevent the use of body fluids on the ball in the post-COVID-19 matches, cricketers across the world have voiced on how it may affect the game.
The latest to join the bandwagon and talk about the ban on the usage of saliva is Indian Test team vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. However, unlike others, he refused to give an outright opinion and chose to wait to see what the officials decide.
“I would like to wait and watch. You will only get a fair idea about revised rules once play resumes,” Rahane, who was named brand ambassador of the English Language Speech Assistant mobile application, said during an online press conference as quoted by PTI.
After an ESPNcricinfo report stated that ICC during its meeting considered the use of artificial substances like vaseline to shine the ball in order to keep the players away from using saliva and sweat to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, speculations have gone wild about the new development in cricket.
Veteran cricketers like David Warner and Harbhajan Singh criticised the consideration. While Warner said the ban on saliva was not enough to contain the spread of the virus, Harbhajan opined that saliva and sweat were important components for cricketers to shine the ball.
Among others, batting great Sachin Tendulkar said players would anyway be wary of using saliva to shine the ball, while Pakistan legend Waqar Younis supported the use of spit.
Retired fast-bowlers like Ashish Nehra and Michael Holding dismissed the whole idea of not using saliva and sweat and slammed the governing bodies for even considering such a plan.
Explaining the need to use saliva and sweat, the 2011 World Cup-winning pacer said that both were used to not only shine the ball but to make one side of it heavier as well which helps the ball to reverse swing. And according to him, the vaseline doesn’t do that.
“It (vaseline) is lighter and doesn’t even ensure conventional swing. It can keep the shine but doesn’t make the ball heavy,” Nehra said.
“I have read that ICC is contemplating preventing people from using saliva on the ball due to COVID-19 and allowing them to use foreign substances on the ball to keep the shine on but in front of the umpire. I don’t understand the logic behind that,” Holding told ESPNCricinfo as quoted by via PTI.