Jaydev Unadkat opens up on saliva ban,suggests another rule change

Unadkat on Wednesday said that a second new ball can be taken in Tests after every 50-55 overs to help the bowlers.

Hyderabad: India left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has expressed that saliva ban will make the game imbalance as there will be no advantage for bowlers. However, he has one suggestion to change another rule in cricket which can nullify saliva ban.

Unadkat on Wednesday said that a second new ball can be taken in Tests after every 50-55 overs to help the bowlers.

Jaydev Unadkat

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already announced a temporary ban on applying saliva to the ball as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. With this, many former and current players are suggesting some alternative ways to maintain the balance between bat and ball.

In an interaction with media, Unadkat said that wax can also be considered to shine the ball. The pacer also said that the saliva ban won't cause many problems to the bowlers in white-ball cricket.

Saliva Ban

"I do think there will have to be some other alternative if saliva is banned, just sweat or not applying anything will make the game imbalanced in my opinion, for that balance you might need to experience with wax or I like the idea of trying out a new ball after every 50-55 overs in an innings of a Test match, it is the first thought that came into my mind when saliva was banned," Unadkat told media.

"Definitely, the saliva ban will be more challenging in red-ball cricket as compared to the white-ball cricket because you need more of those things for reverse swing and stuff, in white-ball, I think you do not even get reverse swing these days as there are two new balls in ODIs, it's just 25 overs per ball, I think it won't affect white-ball format much," he added.

Earlier, the ICC had said that players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball.

If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning.

A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side.

Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommences.