Cricket is set to do away with the traditional practice of shining the ball through the use of saliva, as the ICC Cricket Committee on Monday (May 18) recommended banning it owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

See More: Pat Cummins against saliva, sweat ban post COVID-19; says Test cricket will lose its charm

However, the Anil Kumble-led committee saw no need to prohibit the use of sweat to polish the cricket ball.

"We are living through extraordinary times and the recommendations the Committee have made today are interim measures to enable us to safely resume cricket in a way that preserves the essence of our game while protecting everyone involved," Kumble said in an ICC release.

"The ICC Cricket Committee heard from the Chair of the ICC Medical Advisory Committee Dr Peter Harcourt regarding the elevated risk of the transmission of the virus through saliva, and unanimously agreed to recommend that the use of saliva to polish the ball be prohibited," the apex body said in the release.

As per the medical advice, the virus is unlikely to be transmitted through sweat and thus ICC decided against discontinuing it.

"The Committee also noted the medical advice that it is highly unlikely that the virus can be transmitted through sweat.

"... (It) saw no need to prohibit the use of sweat to polish the ball while recommending that enhanced hygiene measures are implemented on and around the playing field," the media release further stated.

The recommendations will now be presented to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee in early June for approval.

In order to swing the ball, especially in the longest format, fast bowlers around the world used to apply saliva on the cherry but the practice is now being seen as hazardous for health.

As the ICC contemplated banning the use of saliva last month, it became a hot topic of discussion in the cricket fraternity. Only time will tell how much of an imbalance between the bat and ball will the whole thing cause.