The changes to the playing conditions, were recommended by the Cricket Committee of the ICC headed by Sourav Ganguly and have been ratified by the Chief Executives’ Committee which was also endorsed by the Women’s Cricket Committee.
According to new ICC rules, players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball and if a player does apply saliva to the ball.
The ICC Cricket Committee had suggested the international governing body to temporarily ban the use of saliva to avoid the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Brett Lee also spoke about the decision to ban the usage of saliva on ball and said that “it will be really hard” for the current bowlers to adhere to it.
Sachin Tendulkar proposed that a new ball should be allowed to take by the bowling team after every 40-50 overs, instead of 80 overs, in a Test match.
Brett Lee suggested that if the players were already staying in a bio-secure bubble they could be tested before the game and if they turn negative, the game could be played as usual.
Criticising the decision, Wasim Akram said allowing sweat is not enough and ICC will have to find a “reasonable solution” to the problem.
However, Deepak Chahar admitted that for bowlers in Test cricket it would be a real challenge to maintain the shine of the ball without saliva.
Anil Kumble also suggested that a better way for the players to return to cricket would be to train in a "bio-secure zone" and play practice matches.
Anil Kumble is the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee which has directed to ban the usage of saliva on the ball in post-COVID-19 matches.
