Will need some practice to not put saliva on ball, feels R Ashwin

As the coronavirus-induced pandemic took over, all sports across the globe took a major hit. The unprecedented circumstances led to cricket boards considering various measures and innovations to deal with the challenge in front of them. In light of this, on Tuesday, the ICC Cricket Committee headed by Anil Kumble declared that sweat, instead of saliva, would be used for ball shining once play resume.

According to seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, it will take him some time to get used to not use saliva as it has been an integral part of cricket for ages. Besides Ashwin, many other cricketers including the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Matthew Hayden, have found the use of sweat unlikely to help in ball shining. Ashwin further added that it will be a challenge for spinners without the usage of saliva on the cricket ball. 

“I don’t know (when is) the next time I go out there. It is natural for me to put saliva. It’s going to take some practice (to not apply saliva). We will have to try and adapt to this. It’s more about trying these variations and the disappointments you get with it,” Ashwin said during an Instagram chat with Delhi Capitals, reported TOI.

It took Ashwin, who has bagged 365 wickets in 71 Tests, years to nail the carrom ball and now he’ll need to adapt to the variations. The off-spinner revealed that it was frustrating during those four years when he was trying to develop the skill but with practice, he was able to execute what he desired to. Further on, he also revealed that he tried the reverse carrom ball. 

“Imagine try to play carrom with your middle finger and you’re trying to push a cricket ball of that weight that cannot be compressed and you are trying to push it with velocity and trying it to spin. It’s no mean achievement. Your finger, body need to understand it. For me, when I was trying this carrom ball, I was expecting it to get it right every day. But every day despite bowling hundreds of deliveries, I returned home with disappointment of not being able to achieve what I had set out to achieve. That was a very very annoying state because you go through the practice and all with a dream in your head. But it does not pan out as quickly as you expected,” he added.

“I tried the reverse carrom, which I bowl at will now. I have been trying the googly. All these things tested my patience. But I feel when it tests your patience is when you need to be extra hard working, extra rudimentary and extra confident of your skills.”