Prohibition of the use of saliva to shine cricket balls lifted

Bowlers may use saliva to shine the cricket ball in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), so that the prohibition was imposed five years ago during the Covid Pandemic, say reports.

The decision of the Indian cricket administrative body came after a majority of the franchise captains of the tournament supported the move during a meeting on Thursday, ESPNCRICINFO said.

A temporary saliva ban was introduced in May 2020 on medical advice during the pandemic, with the use of sweat still permitted. The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the ban permanent in September 2022.

Players use saliva and sweat to polish a side of the ball to leave it in the air.

The use of saliva was forbidden to reduce the potential transfer of the COVID infection.

Saliva helps fast bowlers to maintain the shine of the ball, creating an imbalance that helps swing, an important element in the bowling mechanics of cricket for more than a century.

It also helps to generate bowlers inverted swing, whereby the ball moves in the opposite direction to what is expected. This is especially important in dry conditions or with older balls.

Saliva is more effective in cricket with red ball, usually used in tests, then in white ball formats such as odis and T20s.

In cricket with red ball, the ball is used for a longer period, so that bowlers can shine one side and help generate reverse swing.

It remains unclear whether the International Cricket Council (ICC) will eliminate the saliva ban for Red-Ball Cricket, after the decision of the Indian Cricket Board to eliminate it for the richest T20 competition in the world. The ICC is led by Jay Shah, former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the world's richest cricket board.

The change will take effect from Saturday when IPL 2025 – the 18th edition – starts with title defender Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opposite Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Eden Gardens. The tournament will contain 74 games in 13 cities for two months.

The Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who plays for the Gujarat Titans -Franchise, has welcomed the decision.

“It's excellent news for us bowlers, because when the ball does nothing, applying saliva on the ball will increase the chances to find an inverted swing,” Siraj told Press Trust of India News Agency.

“It sometimes helps inverted swing because scrubbing the ball against the shirt will not help [to get reverse swing]. But the use of saliva on the ball will help with enforcement [the shine on one side]And it's important. “

Mohammed Shami, another Indian fast bowler, had called the ICC earlier this month to lift the ban.

After India's Champions Trophy Semi-Final victory over Australia, he said: “We remain attractive that we should be allowed to use saliva so that we can bring back inverted swing back into the game and make it interesting.”

Shami's plea was supported by former international bowlers Vernon Philander and Tim Southe.

Recently Indian Spin Great R Ashwin, who recently retired from the international cricket, said that he too was confused by the ban.

“ICC has released some research documents that said that saliva did not help much inverted swing and that it did not make a huge difference in the area of ​​saliva on the ball. I don't know how to do the research, but saliva should be allowed anyway if it is no problem,” he said on his YouTube channel.

Sports writer Sharda Ugra says that the elimination of saliva on saliva can help to make the game between bat and ball “more even”.

Many believe that the opportunities are stacked against the bowlers in T20 competitions with permanent wickets. The highest IPL, set in 2013 with RCB's 263 for five against Pune, was surpassed four times in 2024. In 17 seasons there are 10 totals about 250 points.

Ugra, however, adds that it is not clear how much impact the lifting of the ban on bowling will have.

“Saliva is not the only factor in generating swing – the conditions must also be ideal and a skilled bowler is the key,” she told the BBC.

Some former fast bowlers such as Venkatesh Prasad in India also had a word of caution about change.

“The ban on applying saliva was also about maintaining the cleanliness. Everything can happen today, we don't know how much – and when – a new virus comes in. So I think you should be very careful about making a decision about lifting the ban,” Prasad told The Times of India Krant earlier this month.