Harbhajan Singh demands bowler-friendly wickets in case use of saliva gets banned

Harbhajan Singh demands bowler-friendly wickets: The veteran spinner has urged to maintain balance between bat and ball.

Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has put human life over cricket when asked about whether the 13th season of the Indian Premier League should take place or not in the wake of the novel COVID-19.

“I do not know what decisions the government and BCCI take on the future of IPL. Honestly, even if IPL doesn’t happen for the first time in 13 years I think that is fine. We can’t force to have cricket seeing the serious situation we all are in. Human life comes first, cricket can wait,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Harbhajan, who readily agreed to play IPL 2020 without spectators a month ago, was slated to represent Chennai Super Kings in the biggest T20 league around the world.

Harbhajan Singh demands bowler-friendly wickets

There is no hiding to how the global pandemic has affected cricketing schedules at the highest level. In addition to the scheduling changes, cricket might also have to do away with an age-old practice of shining the ball with saliva considering the potential danger it possesses.

Accepting that the ban on saliva will be followed for some time, Harbhajan demanded for bowler-friendly wickets to make sure that balance between the bat and the ball stays intact.

“I think the ban on saliva and sweat will be here to stay. It will be very, very difficult for bowlers. In this scenario, pitches should be made [in a way] that a bowler can get some help. I mean if a bowler cannot even shine the ball to improve his bowling, he should at least not be given paata [flat] wickets,” Harbhajan said.

Speaking on similar lines, Australia all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne also urged players to “make sacrifices” to make sure that the sport resumes in the near future. It is worth mentioning that noted Australian sports manufacturer Kookaburra have come up with a cricket ball shine polish as a replacement of human saliva to shine the ball.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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