Ban on saliva won’t affect bowlers a lot in Indian conditions, says Mitchell Starc

The Australian urged pitch curators to leave more grass on the wicket in order to preserve the competition between bat and ball.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc feels the ban on the use of saliva in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic would tilt the balance of the game in the batsman’s favour but the disparity would be much lesser in Indian conditions.

“In Indian conditions, the ban might not have so much of an effect. You sweat a lot in the hot and humid conditions and you can use it to polish the SG ball well. Another aspect is the pitches and conditions don’t offer much in terms of swing movement unlike those in England and Australia,” Starc told reporters during an online press conference on Tuesday morning.

The Australian urged pitch curators to leave more grass on the wicket in order to preserve the competition between bat and ball.

“You use both saliva and sweat to shine the ball. I’ve probably been a bit more on the sweat side, and I try not to get my hands in my mouth too much but I agree that there needs to be something in place to keep that ball swinging.

“They’ve mentioned that it’s only going to be an interim measure. So for the time being, they should instruct people to leave more grass on the wickets to have an even contest between bat and ball. Otherwise people are going to stop watching, and kids aren’t going to want to be bowlers. There are some pretty flat wickets, and if that ball doesn’t do much and goes straight then it becomes a pretty boring contest,” Starc said.

The Australian had withdrawn from the IPL earlier this season but might reconsider his decision if the IPL is held in the October-November window in place of the T20 World Cup.

“I’d consider it. Obviously it’d be right at the start of our domestic season as well so it’d be a fair bit to consider. But I don’t currently have a contract, so I currently don’t have to worry,” he said.