Permanent Saliva Ban Not A Big Deal, States Pat Cummins

Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins said that a permanent ban on the usage of saliva won’t be a considerable issue for the pace bowlers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had barred bowlers from implying saliva to shine the ball as a precautionary measure.

In the recent suggestions by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC),  the custodian of cricket laws, mentioned putting a complete ban on the usage of saliva in the amended 2022 code, which will come into effect in October this year.

I don’t think it has made a huge effect: Pat Cummins on permanent saliva ban

The MCC said that applying saliva had no impact on the ball’s movement and it would be treated as an unfair practice. Cummins said that it won’t be a big deal for pace bowlers like him as they have the option to apply sweat.

“I don’t think so (permanent saliva ban will hamper the performance of the pace bowlers),” Cummins, himself a pacer, told reporters ahead of Australia’s third Test against Pakistan.

“I don’t think it has made a huge effect, as big as we might have thought it would. We can still use sweat so it’s not too big a deal,” he added.

Shreyas Iyer seems like a very calm guy: Pat Cummins

Cummins made the headlines in IPL 2020 auction when he was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping amount of INR 15.5 crore earning the most expensive overseas by in the IPL, only for South Africa’s Chris Morris (16.25 crore) to surpass him in the very next auction (2021).

KKR once again roped in Cummins for his services as the two-time IPL champions bought him for 7.5 crores in the IPL 2022 auction. The Australia pace bowler said he is excited to join KKR back and appreciated his new skipper Shreyas Iyer.

“Shreyas, I played with at Delhi (Daredevils), we got on really well. He seems like a very calm guy and seems in the form at the moment. I’m so excited to go over there, I have some close friends I will be playing alongside, can’t wait,” he said. 

Cummins is currently leading Australia in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan in their own backyard. The series is evenly poised at 0-0 after the first two Tests ended in a drawn affair and the series-decider will be staged at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, the match starts on Monday.

Also Read: PAK vs AUS: We Expect A Lot Like The First 2 Tests – Pat Cummins On The Lahore Surface