Hyderabad: Premier India fast bowler Mohammad Shami has expressed his opinion on the ICC latest rule change to ban players from using saliva on the cricket ball. The right-hand pacer feels that it is going to take months to get used to the ban.
Shami said, "Using saliva is a habit now. Replacing it with an external substance like wax or Vaseline is going to be difficult. We'll need to assess how well the external substance works and will need at least a month to get used to it. Otherwise, it's a guaranteed fine on us bowlers."
Use of pink ball is being widely spoken about. Shami believes, "All balls are different and behave according to pitch conditions. With the pink ball, we will need a grassy wicket. Also, the earlier advantage of bowlers leveraging moisture in the morning will probably get replaced by the benefit to bowlers towards the end of the session. So according to me just reverse the order mentally and things will be fine. And if there is some meat in the pitch, it'll be great for bowlers."
Although Shami loves all formats of the game, he feels his Test debut was special. "I personally like Test cricket more than the ODIs, so definitely my Test debut was special. Another reason for it could be that Paaji (Sachin Tendulkar) put his hands on my shoulder and spoke to me in my Test debut."
