Saliva, extra ball and DRS

IPL this season will be defined by these new rules introduced by BCCI

- Rushikesh Bamne

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has begun with a bang. In a nation that loves cricket, IPL has played a vital role in bringing families together over the last 17 years. The exciting new rules make this year's IPL more interesting.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office bearers and the captains of 10 IPL teams met a few days ago at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. The hot topic of this session was lifting the ban on the usage of saliva to shine the cricket ball. All captains agreed to it, as it will stop matches from being one-sided. Since 2020, due to COVID-19, BCCI banned the use of saliva as a precautionary measure in IPL. In the last five seasons, the bowling team used to apply sweat on the ball to get the reverse swing.

In 2021, the International Cricket Council (ICC), banned the use of saliva from all formats of the game. However, after repeated suggestions from a few fast bowlers including Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah, this year BCCI has lifted a ban on saliva only for IPL. The role of the bowlers in limited-over formats like T20 is important, especially during the death overs. Permission to apply saliva will give some relief to them, especially pacers.