Varun Chakravarthy Differs With Mohammed Shami On Saliva Ban: "I Do Not See..."

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), RCB head coach Andy Flower and KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy spoke on new rule changes in the competition, which removes the ban on saliva and allows change of ball in the second innings of a match in case dew comes into play.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made some significant changes in the rules for IPL 2025, which begins on March 22. BCCI has introduced rule changes in IPL 2025, including the lifting of the saliva ban, the continuation of the Impact Player rule and the slow over rate ban cannot be imposed on Captains anymore. The removal of the saliva ban, introduced as a COVID-19 precautionary measure, is a major move. The rule against using saliva was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure, but the ICC made it permanent in September 2022.

Several fast bowlers have opined that the ban impedes their effectiveness by not allowing reverse swing, which has become uncommon in white-ball cricket, including ODIs, where two new balls are utilized. Bowlers were only allowed to use sweat to shine the bowl. From time to time, bowlers have raised their voices to revise the saliva ban, including Indian pace veteran Mohammed Shami during the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy.

Also, in order to help bowlers counter the effects of dew on the pitch, the league has also decided to introduce a rule allowing a change of ball after the 11th over of the second innings during the evening matches. Any requests for additional ball changes will be made on the discretion of the on-field umpires. All these decisions were taken during a meeting of all ten