Body fluids will reach ball some way or the other: Chetan Sharma

Post COVID-19 cricket may not be the same for the pace bowlers. Cricket bodies across the globe are considering not to allow sweat or saliva to shine the ball in competition.

NEW DELHI: Of all the safety measures proposed for cricket once it returns, banning the usage of saliva and sweat for shining the ball is one that has garnered a lot of debate. Former India fast-bowler Chetan Sharma however feels it is rather impossible to do that as the players' sweat and saliva will come on the ball anyhow in some way because of the sheer time they spend in the field on a typical day.

Chetan feels that using any substitute for saliva or sweat would mean promoting ball tampering which has always been deemed as an illegal practice. "If the usage of artificial substances are made legal then what happened to all the debate we have had over the years on ball tampering," Chetan told IANS.

"Moreover if a player is spending around six hours a day in the middle, just observe the number of times they lick their lips. There is no chance that they won't lick their lips or wipe their faces with their hands when they are out there for that long.

"So whether you put saliva on the ball or not your germs are going on it anyhow. So if they are stopping this practice to ensure that your germs don't reach the ball, they have failed right there because the body fluids will reach the ball in some way or the other. You can't tell the players that they can't wipe the sweat off their faces or bodies."

Chetan said that there is no way that players' body fluids can be stopped from getting on the ball and instead, suitable quarantine measures should be implemented before or during matches and series.

"Quarantine the players for 14 days, test them. After that if you feel that the player is 100 per cent risk free, you allow them to play. If there is even a minor risk, the player should not play," said Chetan, who was the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in a World Cup.

He is however supportive of playing matches without spectators. "If cricket is allowed to be played behind closed doors there is nothing wrong with it. If we can't go to the ground but we can still watch tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) at home, so be it."

The BCCI is now looking to hold the IPL in October but that is also clashing with the men's T20 World Cup that is scheduled to be held at the same time in Australia. Chetan said that the IPL should happen no matter what because of the importance it carries for the younger players in the domestic circuit. IANS 

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