New Delhi: It’s not just the pacers who will be at a disadvantage due to the ban on use of saliva but spinners too will suffer. This was said by India’s top wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. On the other hand, India pacer Ishant Sharma opined that the ban on saliva to shine the ball will make things easy for batsmen. He asserted that ICC needs to ensure that the competition remains fair between bat and ball.
The ICC has banned the use of saliva on ball as an interim health safety measure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision has raised concerns about cricket becoming even more batting friendly.
Chahal’c comments
“When you use a natural element like saliva, it helps pacers with swing and spinners with the drift,” Chahal said. He was talking at a programme organised by ‘ESPNCricinfo’ on white ball cricket.
Drift in cricketing terminology is the sideways movement in the air when a slow bowler tries to impart spin. “If as a spinner, I cannot get drift in the middle overs, the batsmen will have it easy. This is something (saliva ban) that will affect every bowler in the world. I will have to figure out a solution once I start bowling in the nets,” Chahal, said.
Use of saliva useful for spinners too
The spinners also complement the pacers in shining the ball, said Chahal, who has 146 wickets in 94 shorter format games.
“Spinners use saliva too to maintain the shine of the ball because we are aware that pacers will bowl after us. Spinners and pacers always try to help out each other by maintaining the shine of the ball,” Chahal pointed out. “I would like to maintain the condition of the ball in a way that it helps pacers whenever they come,” he added.
How Harbhajan’s advice helped
The discussion turned to Chahal’s own game. He said one advice from Harbhajan Singh during his first IPL stint at Mumbai Indians has stayed with him forever.
“…Harbhajan Singh once told me – back your skills as a bowler. My strengths are varying my pace and beating the batsman in flight,” Chahal pointed out. “I have seen a lot of spinners change their actions while bowling at the Chinnaswamy. Their fear can be sensed. Once I do that I convey it to the batsmen in my team so that they can attack him,” Chahal said.
Attacking captains
Chahal feels that his attacking instincts are considered beneficial by both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, whoever the captain is, they want us to pick up wickets. Even if I concede 70 runs in my 10 overs but pick up three wickets in the middle overs, it will benefit the team,” informed Chahal.
Meanwhile Ishant, who has played a whopping 97 Tests, reasoned that if the bowlers don’t shine the red ball it won’t swing. It will again be an added advantage to batsmen.
Advantage batsmen
“If we don’t shine the red ball, it doesn’t swing and 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.
Saliva is primarily used on a new ball while sweat is used on the old ball when reverse swing comes into play.
Special precaution required
The lanky pacer has 297 Test and 115 ODI wickets to his name. These days Ishant is mainly considered for the longest format of the game. He informed 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. We are used to shining the ball, especially the red ball,” asserted Sharma.