Cricketing World is buzzing with news that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might let players put saliva on the ball again starting with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Apparently, this idea has been kicked around internally at the BCCI. They’re even planning a meeting in Mumbai this Thursday with all ten IPL team captains to talk about it.
Using saliva to shine one side of the ball was a common trick for fast bowlers around the world. It helped them keep the shine on that side, which made the ball swing in reverse as it got older.
But the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned this practice during the COVID-19 pandemic as a safety measure. In 2022, they made the ban permanent.
The IPL followed suit, adopting the ICC’s rule about not using saliva because of the pandemic.
Now, a top BCCI official is pushing for the IPL to change its mind, according to a report. The official says the IPL doesn’t have to follow the ICC’s rules.
In an interview, a BCCI official said, Putting saliva on the ball was just part of the game before COVID. Now that the threat is gone, we think it’s okay to lift the ban in the IPL.
The official added, We know it helps more in red-ball cricket, but even if it gives bowlers a small edge in the white-ball game, it should be allowed in the IPL. It’s a league that sets trends. We’ll see what the captains think.
This isn’t the first time someone has brought this up. Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has asked the ICC to bring back the use of saliva. Other well-known fast bowlers, like Vernon Philander from South Africa and Tim Southee from New Zealand, have supported Shami’s request.
Shami told reporters after a match, We’re trying to get reverse swing, but we can’t use saliva on the ball. We keep asking to be allowed to use saliva so we can bring back reverse swing and make the game more exciting.
Right now, the IPL rules say that if a player is caught using saliva on the ball for the first time, the captain of the fielding team gets a warning. But if it happens again, the player could be fined up to 25% of their match fee.
According to last year’s IPL rules, If it’s the second time during an inning, the captain of the fielding team is called over and given a second and final warning. If anyone on the team does it again during the inning, that player will be fined by the BCCI.
If it’s the third time or more, the player who used saliva on the ball will be told that they have to pay a fine to the BCCI. The fine will be either 10 lakh or 25% of their match fee, whichever is less.
So, basically, the BCCI is thinking about bringing back a classic cricket trick to make the IPL even more interesting. Whether they decide to do it or not depends on what the team captains think. It will be interesting to see what happens!
