RCB quick bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar lately shared a humorous second earlier than their match towards PBKS on April 18. This skilled pacer simply hit a milestone by turning into the primary Indian quick bowler to play 300 T20 matches. Throughout a press convention, he made a light-hearted remark about one thing he had completely forgotten — that the ban on utilizing saliva on the ball was lifted for IPL 2025.
For these not within the loop, the BCCI, which is India’s cricket board, lately allowed gamers to make use of saliva once more to shine the ball, a observe that was frequent within the sport earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit, utilizing saliva was banned to assist scale back the chance of spreading the virus. In 2022, the ICC made that ban a everlasting rule. However now, the BCCI has introduced it again simply in time for IPL 2025, making it the primary main event to reinstate this previous rule.
Bhuvneshwar had a great giggle through the press convention as he recalled, I haven’t used saliva. I forgot that I can use it. After I noticed Starc, it hit me that I ought to be utilizing it. I’m not likely certain if it’s going to assist me or not, however I’ll undoubtedly give it a shot within the subsequent match.
Utilizing saliva is one thing bowlers do to maintain one facet of the ball shiny, which helps them get reverse swing. That is notably helpful in T20 cricket, the place batsmen are inclined to go after each supply. Some bowlers, like Mitchell Starc from DC, really feel that utilizing saliva may not make an enormous distinction in white-ball cricket, whereas others like Mohammed Shami, Siraj, and Varun Chakravarthy are actually excited concerning the rule being again.
Curiously, a bowler from Gujarat Titans (GT) even talked about that saliva helped him have a standout efficiency this season. Now that the BCCI has introduced again using saliva, bowlers have a further device at their disposal. With swing specialists like Bhuvneshwar Kumar again in motion, followers are desirous to see if this variation may have any noticeable affect within the upcoming matches.
