Have a new-ball every 45 overs in Tests to combat saliva ban, suggests Sachin Tendulkar

The post-Covid world in cricket is set to witness a lot of significant changes, but none more so than the saliva ban imposed by the ICC. The council, last month, confirmed the ban of the usage of saliva on the ball by fielding teams, in order to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus. However, it is a change that has not gone down too well with the bowlers, as the ICC not legalizing the usage of foreign objects / substances now means that the bowlers are only left with sweat as the only option to shine the ball. 

Several experts have suggested teams to prepare spicy wickets in order to help the bowlers cope with the saliva ban, but legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, however, has come up with a completely different idea. The 47-year-old has suggested for the second new-ball in Test matches to be introduced after 45 or 50 overs, ‘to get the game moving’. According to Sachin, the aforementioned change could help speed up the ‘slow’ nature of Test matches played on batting-friendly wickets.

"In Test cricket, suddenly if the surfaces are not good, the standard of playing I feel drops down. And above all the game slows down because, the batters knows if I don't play a stupid shot here, no one can get me out and the bowler knows, on this surface I have to be patient," Tendulkar told Brett Lee in an interaction on the 100 MB app, reported TOI.

"But why not then to get the game moving, have a new ball after every 45-50 or 55 overs because in ODI cricket we have to play only 50 overs, and you have two new balls there, so literally 25 overs, so that's it.”

The Little Master, who played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs in his decorated career, further opined that saliva ban could end up transforming Test cricket into a day/night one-day game. According to Sachin, the ‘rules and regulations’ hold little value as in general, what transpires on the field is heavily influenced by external factors such as overhead conditions and dew.

"So, here in Test cricket, if you are not going to allow saliva, and sometimes you won't sweat as much depending on the climate where you are playing, it could be a lot like day/night one dayers.

"In ODI cricket, bowling when conditions are dry in day night matches and bowling second when there is a lot of dew on the ground, so on paper the conditions and rules are exactly the same, but on field conditions are totally different, it's chalk and cheese.”