DHAKA, April 20, 2020 (BSS)-The Bangladesh fast bowlers tried to find out a way to shine the ball without using saliva as the procedure may have been deemed risky after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Saliva has long been used as a way of keeping one side of the ball shiny to help produce swing. But it could cause health risk as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO). The cricket world may see the bar of using saliva when cricket resumes in post Covid-19 pandemic era.
“It is very very tough to survive without shining the ball, specially in Test cricket,” said Bangladesh fast bowler Ebadot Hossain.
“But we have to adapt if we are advised to stop using saliva to shine the ball. The situation will be same for all bowlers. But again the bowlers will definitely find a way to survive,” he added.
Ebadot said he had already experienced of bowling without using the saliva during a Dhaka Premier League (DPL) game recently.
“As it was the habit, I used saliva for quite sometimes but later I felt we were advised not to use saliva. However as I have to shine the ball, so I didn’t use the hand to touch my saliva instead I spit on the ball in my bid to shine it. There will be discussion regarding to how we can shine the ball in future definitely and hopefully we will get the idea.”
Fast bowlers around the world believes that Test match would become tougher for them if the saliva is taken out of the equation.
Already some pace bowlers have showed their concern as there is possibility of stopping the long tradition.
“If any decision regarding this has come, we have to found out a way to survive. I think bowlers can use sweat,” said BCB director and former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud Sujon.
Mahmud, who also supervises popular domestic club Abahani Limited as head coach and was a medium pacer during his playing career however finds using sweat not effective like saliva.
“All I can say that we have to think much about it if the saliva thing is taken out of the equation. Hopefully we will come up some solution.”