ICC has come up with a new set of rules post COVID-19 including the saliva ban.
The Coronavirus pandemic has changed sports across the world and it has taken away the physical crowd out of most. With COVID-19 on the mind, cricket had to be dealt with carefully and ICC released new sets of rules with respect to different aspects to how the virus spread could be avoided.
They also introduced a new rule of not allowing the players to apply saliva to shine the ball. Saliva is a prime carrier of Coronavirus and hence it must be avoided.
All the pacers and most of the other players develop a habit of applying saliva to the ball to maintain the shine on one of its sides and it is difficult to avoid that each and every time. Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan believes that the new rules have to be adapted with and the players will need to get used to them.
Khan told Mumbai Indians, "Cricket balls and all that, yes, we have to be little careful of and get used to not using the saliva as well. So old habits, at times, just creeps in as bowlers so we will have to be mindful of that."
The 41-year-old also spoke about the routines have changed for players and the sooner they get used to it, the better it will be for them. As professional athletes, they need to find a way to keep themselves mentally fit.
He said, "When you are a professional athlete you have to find a way of keeping that mental space which you like to be in. It varies individually so that is something which every individual has to take care of and own that individual space."
"I would not say that it is going to be difficult as such it is just a matter of getting used to the new routines and the preparation routines are going to change. You have to keep up with that. It just feels good to be back again out on the field," Khan added.
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????️ | @ImZaheer talks about being game ready amidst the new protocols.#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MI #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/8xjomAlcAt
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 10, 2020