Once COVID-19 subsides, cricket could see a shift away from the traditional practice of shining the ball through the use of saliva and sweat in order to avoid the potential spread of the virus.
As per the reports, the ban on saliva, sweat was discussed at the recent CEC meeting of the ICC. It is believed, without much clarity, that the ball-tampering could be legalised to keep the balance of competitiveness between the bat and ball.
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However, India pacer Jaydev Unadkat reckons these components won’t make much of a difference with white ball.
“I think white ball won’t be a problem as a whole. Even in ODIs, you will be using two new balls 25 overs each. Reverse swing has never been a big factor in white-ball cricket. Even the new ball doesn’t require any sweat or saliva as far as white ball is concerned,” Unadkat told PTI during an interaction.
“White lacquer remains shiny even if you just rub it on your trousers while for red ball, the red lacquer and the red leather demands that we shine it more with saliva and sweat,” he added.
Therefore, the left-arm pacer believes limited-overs format will be a lesser risk for bowlers and can be started before one gets to the Test and first-class cricket.
“If we are starting with white-ball contests, we will surely have an advantage as saliva and sweat are as big a factor as it could be in red-ball cricket.”
Just before the pandemic brought the game to a grinding halt, Unadkat led Saurashtra to its maiden Ranji Trophy title.
In normal circumstances, the left-arm pacer would have been playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, which has now been postponed until further notice.
“To be honest, the big break evens out a lot of things as far as team selection is concerned. A lot will depend on can carry the form through the break and who can can come out sooner. You can’t really judge now as you dont know how big the break will be. Even if I don’t get match time sooner, if we get practice time sooner, it won’t take much time to get back the rhythm,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
