Indian pacer Mohammed Shami said that it will take the players "at least a month" to get used to the new regulations.
Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is one of the select few all-format players for the side. Shami is the side's premier pacers in the longest format of the game, having aided to multiple memorable wins for India at home and overseas.
Shami, along with Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav, forms one of the most lethal pace quartets in the world.
However, with new regulations in cricket following the coronavirus pandemic, it has been argued that pace bowling will become significantly difficult. The ban on the use of saliva is seen as harsh for the bowlers and calls have been made to allow the use of artificial equipment to maintain shine on the ball.
Shami, however, feels otherwise.
"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," said the Indian bowler during a conversation with Deep Das Gupta for ESPNCricinfo. (ALSO READ: Laxman pays tribute to man filling potholes since losing son to road accident)
Use of pink ball is being widely spoken about. Shami believes, "All balls are different and behave according to pitch conditions. With pink ball we will need grassy wicket. Also, the earlier advantage of bowlers leveraging moisture in the morning will probably get replaced by 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 Tendlkar) put his hands on my shoulder and spoke to me in my Test debut."
