Tim Southee, a former pacer for New Zealand, has backed India’s Mohammed Shami in his demand to lift the ball’s saliva prohibition in international cricket so that bowlers may get reverse swing from the ball.
Tim Southee, a former pacer for New Zealand, has backed India’s Mohammed Shami in his demand to lift the ball’s saliva prohibition in international cricket so that bowlers may get reverse swing from the ball. In May 2020, the International Cricket Council (ICC) temporarily prohibited players from polishing the ball with their saliva during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ICC permanently banned it in September 2022.”We are trying (to get reverse swing), but the usage of saliva on the ball is not allowed,” Shami stated following India’s Champions Trophy semifinal victory over Australia by four wickets. We continue to argue that we ought to be permitted to use saliva in order to revive reverse swing and make the game more engaging.
The ICC should lift the rule on using saliva to shine the ball and offer bowlers an advantage, Southee said, echoing Shami’s request.
According to Southee, “that was a rule brought around Covid with the virus going around the world, but I think as a bowler, you want to have a slight advantage,” he stated on Match Day featuring . “We observe that the game is proceeding as it is, with teams scoring 362 and, in this format, frequently surpassing 300. I believe that the bowlers must have something going for them, and if that’s a little saliva, then I don’t see why they couldn’t afford to get it back in.”
