Premier Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah said that the saliva ban has made the job of bowling difficult for bowlers all over the world. The ICC banned bowlers from putting saliva on the balls as per the new directives against the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of this, getting the ball to reverse swing has become increasingly difficult for the modern bowlers. The Indian bowlers along with Bumrah had a tough day at the office on the first day in Chennai.
Addressing the press conference after the day’s play, Jasprit Bumrah spoke about the problems faced by the modern bowlers due to the saliva ban. The ace fast bowler was the pick of the bowlers for India on day 1 scalping two wickets including his first Test wicket on home soil.
“It becomes difficult when the ball becomes soft and doesn’t shine really well because of new COVID-19 rules, we can’t use saliva, very difficult during that time to maintain the ball. In India, the ball gets scuffed up easily. So to make the ball heavy, you have to shine one side sometimes, with sweat and it doesn’t really serve the purpose. You can’t make one side heavy with sweat and it doesn’t really work that way” Bumrah said.
Trying to find ways with limited resource – Jasprit Bumrah
He further said that the saliva ban has left the bowlers with a very little option regarding shining the ball in their search for the reverse swing on flat wickets like Chennai.
Also Read: Watch – Jasprit Bumrah’s Toe-Crushing Yorker Traps Dominic Sibley LBW
“The ball did become soft after a while and the wicket is on flatter side with the bounce being less. You are left with limited options (to shine ball). We are trying to figure out what we can do with the limited things in hand, at that time,” Bumrah said.
Meanwhile, after playing 17 Test matches away from home, Bumrah finally played his first Test match at home. He picked up two wickets, one early and one in the final over of the day’s play and in between looked helpless with the ball.
He concluded by speaking about his experience of playing the first Test in India.
“This is my first match over here. The wicket was on the flatter side, not lot of lateral movement was there. It was abrasive but we are not trying to complaint how the wicket is but trying to figure out what the solutions are. But these are the rules and we have to make do with what we have at the moment,” said Bumrah.
Also Read: Watch – Jasprit Bumrah Gets His First Wicket In India As He Traps Dan Lawrence