The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are all set to lift the ban on a rule. On March 20, at the BCCI Headquarters in the Wankhede Stadium, the captains meet for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will take place. As all the franchises assemble, BCCI will discuss with all the teams whether they wish to uplift the ban on the ‘no saliva on the ball’ rule.
No saliva rule & bowlers suffering in IPL 2024
For the uninformed, in 2022 the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to restrict the use of saliva on the ball during the Covid-19 pandemic. The fear of the virus spreading caused the ICC to enforce the rule. However, three years later, it still exists.
With bowlers getting smashed left, right, and centre in T20 cricket, now would be a great time to help the bowlers. In the last IPL season, the first innings average score was 190. Batters like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Jake Fraser-McGurk were murdering the ball. The impact player rule didn’t help either.
Shami advocated for change
Mohammed Shami had called for the ICC to change the rule during the 2025 Champions Trophy. The use of saliva allows bowlers to help reverse swing the ball. Which wasn’t possible by using just sweat. And Shami wanted the bowlers to be back in the game in white-ball cricket.
IPL 2025 captains can change the rule, says BCCI
Taking this into account, the BCCI will tell the IPL 2025 captains and teams that if they wish to make a change, they can do so. The board thinks that ICC should change the ‘no saliva’ rule as well, as it’ll be for the betterment of the game.
“It’s their call if they want to go ahead with that. We have no issue, and we are okay with that, and if going forward ICC will make changes, it’s again for the betterment for cricket,” a source told Sports Tak.
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