KOCHI: The ban on using saliva on the ball is something that bowlers will have to come to terms with and many have questions whether it will make the contest between bat and ball uneven. Some bowlers feel it could leave them at a disadvantage, others feel they can work around it. S Sreesanth, who is looking to make a comeback, feels it won’t make much of a difference.
“It’s very important to maintain the ball. Many are saying that bowlers would find it difficult without saliva. I think sweat is more than enough. But one has to be very careful because overuse of sweat will also affect the movement. One side has to be dry, so you should shine the ball while holding the seam and not by palming one side of the ball,” said Sreesanth.
“Many cricketers tend to shine the ball by palming the ball on one side and when that happens, without their knowledge, the other side also gets wet due to sweaty palms. That is why teams struggle to make the ball move because one side is not dry. It has to be dry. I will say that not being able to use saliva is a blessing in disguise,” Sreesanth said on Sunday while talking to young cricketers in online interaction.
The former India pacer feels that the skills of the bowlers will be put to test because of the saliva ban. “I am saying this because, now, only the skilful bowlers will end up with wickets and you will have to have the skills to survive. So I’m very happy that saliva is taken off,” he said.
Lately, the 37-year-old has been training with some of the Kerala cricketers like pacers MD Nidheesh and Basil Thampi. He is looking to find a place in the Kerala team for the upcoming domestic season.
“I encourage Nidheesh and Thampi and whoever is training with me, even the spinners, to make sure we get into a habit in the practice sessions of not using saliva. If we have to survive, we have to adapt. I also think that only a few players should be given the responsibility of shining the ball instead of having the whole team do the same. These things should be discussed in detail in team meetings and it all comes down to maintaining the ball,” he said.