New Delhi: Nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, in a measured step towards normalisation, the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) have lifted the ban on the use of saliva on the ball in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The highly anticipated IPL 2025 will commence on Saturday, March 22.
The move came after the captain's meets of the IPL ahead of the commencement of the 2025 season. A majority of captains agreed to the IPL committee's proposal, making it the first major cricket competition to do away with the restriction that was a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was taken at the captains' meeting in Mumbai.
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"The saliva ban has been lifted. The majority of captains were in favour of the move. Some had reservations about the re-introduction, some sat on the fence but the majority of them supported the move," a top BCCI official told PTI.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned the age-old practice of applying saliva to shine the ball as a precautionary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which health practitioners advocated strict hygiene protocols and physical distancing. The players were not allowed handshakes, were not allowed to make contact with players much, and umpires used to sanitize the ball whenever comes in touch with other people not involved in the match.
In 2022, the world body made the ban permanent. The IPL too included the ICC ban in its playing conditions in the aftermath of the pandemic but its guidelines are outside the purview of the sport's governing body.
With the development on Thursday, the IPL became the first major cricketing event to re-introduce saliva's use after the pandemic. Now that the ban is revoked in the IPL, the ICC too might review its stance on the subject.
On the sidelines of the ICC Champions Trophy, senior India pacer Mohammed Shami had spoken about the need to use saliva on the ball in what has become a predominantly batters' game.
The likes of Vernon Philander and Tim Southee had backed Shami's call. "We keep appealing that we should be allowed to use saliva so that we can bring reverse swing back into the game and it becomes interesting," Shami had said during the 50-over event in Dubai, where India emerged victorious.
Also on the agenda of captains' meeting was the contentious Impact Player rule which the BCCI had already extended till at least 2027. The likes of Rohit Sharma and more recently Hardik Pandya have expressed their reservations on the playing strategy.
"While a few have raised objections on the Impact Player rule, it has benefitted uncapped batters and bowlers who otherwise won't get to play," the official said.
The BCCI also approved the use of DRS for height wides and wides outside the off-stump.
"Hawk eye and ball tracking will be used to decide on the height wides and wides outside the off-stump," the official added.
It was also decided that one ball will be changed in the second innings of an evening game after the 11th over due to dew.
"This is not a rule change, it's just an understanding for this year between teams and umpires. The changed ball will have wear and tear," an official said.
