Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun with Hardik Pandya
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun reckons that if sweat fails in aiding to shine the ball then it could be advantageous to the batsmen. He also admitted that policing of the new saliva ban imposed by ICC is necessary given that bowlers might be inadvertently using it.
Earlier last week, ICC's Cricket Committee led by Anil Kumble prohibited the use of saliva to shine the ball in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. However, they found no health hazards related to the use of sweat.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Arun said that while saliva only acts a medium if maintaining the shine, a lot will depend on the skill of the bowlers. Besides, the condition and nature of the wicket will also play a huge role.
"Movement of the ball is the bowlers’ skill. It happens because of the shine on the ball. Saliva is a catalyst that can help you shine the ball. But essentially it is the skill of the bowler. I really don’t know how it will play out. Sweat is not used as much as saliva. The condition of the field and the nature of the wicket also matter. It will be a new experience, one will have to look at the conditions and adapt," he said.
"We don’t know how the ball is going to behave when you use only sweat. It’s new for everyone, it will depend on conditions. If sweat is not going to be as effective as saliva, it could be advantageous to the batsmen," he added.
Opining on the saliva ban imposed, Arun reckons that monitoring will be required to implement the rule.
"All their lives players are used to using saliva. Policing will be difficult. How do you monitor it? Inadvertently you might use saliva. And if somebody chooses to use it, what will you do? One will be monitoring all the eleven players on the field. If somebody chooses to do it discreetly, it becomes difficult," he said.
