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If it doesn’t swing, it becomes easier for batsmen: Ishant Sharma on saliva ban
The lanky pacer, who has 297 Test and 115 ODI wickets to his name, feels that bowlers will need to take special precautions to ensure that they don’t use saliva as it is an old practice.
The ban on the usage of saliva for shining the cricket ball during Test matches can make things easier for batsmen as the new ball might not swing as much, feels India pacer Ishant Sharma. The ICC on Tuesday decided to ban the use of saliva to shine the ball in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ishant, who has played 97 Tests, argued that competition should be fair and not tilted towards the batsman. The lanky fast bowler feared that the new rule might have an adverse effect on the effectiveness of the new ball in Test cricket, which is considered to be the toughest period for any batting side, especially if in the first session of a Test match.
“If we don’t shine the red ball, it doesn’t swing, then it becomes really easy for the batsman. I think the competition should be fair and not a batsman dominated game,” the 31-year-old said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
Saliva is primarily used on a new ball while sweat is used on the old ball when reverse swing comes into play.
The lanky pacer, who has 297 Test and 115 ODI wickets to his name, feels that bowlers will need to take special precautions to ensure that they don’t use saliva as it is an old practice.
“I feel that the most important thing will be avoiding the use of saliva on the ball and refraining from shining the ball.
“We will have to take special precautions for this as we are used to shining the ball, especially the red ball,” said Sharma, who represents Delhi in domestic cricket.
(With PTI inputs)
