You're Finally Allowed To Spit On Your Balls Again In India
Robert Cianflone. Getty Images.BBC -- Bowlers will be allowed to use saliva to shine the cricket ball in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), reversing the ban imposed during the Covid pandemic five years ago, reports say.
Indian cricket's governing body's decision came after a majority of the tournament's franchise captains supported the move during a meeting on Thursday, ESPNcricinfo said.
A temporary saliva ban was introduced in May 2020 on medical advice during the pandemic, with use of sweat still permitted. The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the ban permanent in September 2022.
We're now 5 years removed from the beginning of Covid and, for the most part, life is back to normal. Sure, the pandemic may have taken a lot from us in society. But we've been slowly and surely getting it back piece by piece. And one of those final pieces we needed to get back to truly feel back to normal was allowing the great men of India to spit on their balls again.
I'm not going to sit here and pretend to understands the physics and intricacies that go into bowling in cricket. But I'm assuming that lathering up that cricket ball with as much spit as you can provide is going to drastically impact the spin of the ball. Some of these dudes are at least breaking 80mph, and some of them are touching 100. That is certified gas. You load that ball up with a loogie and now you can make that thing dance on its way to the….wickets, I believe they are called.
Now here's the only thing I wouldn't be pumped about with the IPL reversing the ban on ball spitting. If I were one of the dudes out in the field, I'd be a little grossed out by having to catch a ball that my teammates just licked all over. Especially because it's not like these guys wear gloves. You're just bare handing his spit out there. It's like finding a hair in your food. You know it's going to happen, you just wish you didn't see it.
Anyway, that's a Friday blog about spitting on balls for ya. Hope you enjoyed your stay.