Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has lifted the ban on use of saliva on the ball in upcoming Indian Premier League season.
The decision was taken after most of the captains agreed to the proposal, which was among the issues discussed at the skippers’ meet here on Thursday, two days before the IPL 2025 kicks off with a clash between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
“The saliva ban has been lifted. Majority of captains were in favour of the move. Some had reservations about the re-introduction, some sat on the fence but most of them supported the move,” a top BCCI official told PTI.
During the Champions Trophy earlier this month, Team India pacer Mohammed Shami had urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to rescind the ban on using saliva so that the art of reverse swing is back in the game.
Applying saliva on a cricket ball is an age-old practice that bowlers and fielders resorted to in order to keep the shine as long as possible. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit our planet, the ICC banned the practice of using saliva on the ball in May 2020 as a precautionary measure, with one of the major protocols being to maintain proper hygiene.
Following Thursday’s development at the captains’ meet, the IPL becomes the first major cricketing event to re-introduce the use of saliva post the pandemic. It remains to be seen whether ICC, which had made the ban permanent in 2022, decides to have a rethink for the sake of bowlers in international cricket.
Two balls in second innings of day/night games
Another significant development was the decision that one ball will be changed in the second innings of an evening game after the 11th over due to the onset of dew in several venues, making it extremely tough for the fielding team as bowlers struggle to grip the ball.
The second white ball, however, won’t be a new one.
“This is not a rule change, it’s an understanding for this year between teams and umpires. The changed ball will have wear and tear,” an official said.
