The ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) ratified recommendations of the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee for mitigating the risks posed by the COVID-19 and protect the safety of players and match officials when cricket matches resume, according to a media release of ICC.
On the use of saliva to shine the ball, the regulations prohibit players from such act. If a player applies saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning, the release said.
A team will be issued two warnings per innings but repeated acts will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play resumes.
Similarly, the teams will be allowed to replace players displaying symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match. But it will not be applicable in ODIs and T20Is.
The requirement to appoint neutral match officials will be temporarily removed for all international formats due to the current logistical challenges.
The CEC has also confirmed an additional unsuccessful DRS review for each team in each innings of a match. This will increase the number of unsuccessful appeals per innings for each team to three for Tests and two for the white-ball formats.
Meanwhile, the CEC has also approved a relaxation of rules on apparel logos for next 12 months.