The return of cricket has been eagerly awaited by fans all around the world. However, it is expected that cricket will not be the same when it returns in this coronavirus affected world. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been mulling several options while looking to restart cricket sometime in the future. One of the contentious issues has been the use of saliva on the ball by bowlers to get it to retain its shine. The ICC Cricket Committee recommended a ban on the use of saliva in its meeting earlier this week
This has prompted a response from India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who feels putting saliva on the ball is a habit and it will take some practice to get rid of it when cricket resumes in the post-COVID-19 world.
“I don’t know (when is) the next time I go out there. It is natural for me to put saliva. It’s going to take some practise (to not apply saliva). But I think, if we all have to co-exist, which is the DNA of human race, we will have to try and adapt to this,” Ashwin said during an Instagram chat with Delhi Capitals.
“It’s more about trying these variations and the disappointments you get with it. Imagine try to play carrom with your middle finger and you’re trying to push a cricket ball of that weight that cannot be compressed and you are trying to push it with velocity and trying it to spin. “It’s no mean achievement. Your finger, body need to understand it so on and so forth,” said the man who has taken 365 wickets in 71 Tests.
“For me, when I was trying this carrom ball, I was expecting it to get it right every day. But every day despite bowling hundreds of deliveries, I will return home with disappointment of not being able to achieve what I had set out to achieve.
