Ahead of the four-match Test series between India and Australia, Sachin Tendulkar has pointed out that the saliva ban favours batsmen while bowlers have become ‘handicapped’. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, saliva has been banned for shining the ball because the natural substance is the major carrier of the infectious virus.
Before the ban of saliva for shining the ball, there was huge debate among cricket boffins. Many had disagreed with the decision because it would allow the batsman to dominate easily. The shinning of the ball help the pacers to swing the ball while it helps spinners to drift the ball.
It is like asking the batsmen not to score runs on the off-side: Sachin Tendulkar on saliva ban
While talking to ANI, Sachin Tendulkar noted that the bowlers should have been given some alternative for saliva which disable bowlers to use certain variations.
“There should have been an alternative, but the alternative is still not there so it is literally like asking a batsman you cannot score runs on the offside, you can only score on the onside. It is literally like that. There is no substitute provided for saliva and that’s why bowlers are handicapped,” Sachin Tendulkar told ANI.
Although ICC has only banned saliva, the players are allowed to use sweat. But the Master Blaster reckons that sweat is not an effective substitute.
“Bowlers are handicapped if you do not have a substitute for saliva. Today we do not have any substitute for saliva. Cricket was always like it, sweat and saliva were always there. I would say saliva is more important than sweat, so it is almost as good as 60 percent. Bowlers would rely more on saliva as compared to sweat.”
Current bowlers like Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah have stated that the saliva ban doesn’t affect them in shorter formats but it hurt their chances of reverse-swinging the ball in Test cricket.