CHENNAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved the recommendations of its Cricket Committee regarding changes to playing conditions and regulations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was done at a meeting of the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC). BCCI secretary Jay Shah is India's representative in the CEC.
Banning the use of saliva to shine the ball and allowing home umpires in international series are among the changes introduced. The Cricket Committee headed by former India captain Anil Kumble had made these recommendations last month. "The CEC ratified recommendations from the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee, aimed at mitigating the risks posed by the Covid-19 virus and protect the safety of players and match officials when cricket resumes," said an ICC statement.
The changes
COVID-19 replacements: Teams will be allowed to replace players displaying symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match. In line with concussion replacements, the Match Referee will approve the nearest like-for-like replacement. The regulation for COVID-19 replacements will not be applicable in ODIs and T20Is.
Ban on applying saliva: Players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball. If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning. A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommences.
Non-neutral umpires: The requirement to appoint neutral match officials will be temporarily removed from the playing conditions for all international formats owing to the current logistical challenges with international travel. The ICC will be able to appoint locally based match officials from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials.
Additional DRS reviews: The CEC has also confirmed an additional unsuccessful DRS review for each team in each innings of a match, keeping in mind that there may be less experienced umpires on duty at times. This will increase the number of unsuccessful appeals per innings for each team to three for Tests and two for the white-ball formats.
Additional logo allowed: The CEC approved a relaxation of rules on apparel logos for the next 12 months. A logo, not exceeding 32 square inches in size, may be placed on the chest of the Test match shirt and sweater in addition to the three other logos allowed as per regulations. As of now, logos on chests are only allowed in ODIs and T20Is.
Note: The ICC Cricket Operations team will support Match Referees when processing Code of Conduct breaches and a neutral Elite Panel match referee will conduct any hearing remotely via video link.