Policing ban on saliva will be hard
nMUMBAI:IT has been two months since India went into lockdown mode. Elite athletes, fit and raring to go, haven’t had such a long break before, and it could particularly impact the bowling unit, with different muscles at play. India bowling coach Bharat Arun speaks about the challenging road back to peak match fitness, and what the ban on saliva use to shine the ball would mean.
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We have been in touch with the players. Everyone has specific roles. I work more with the bowlers, just to remind them that it could be a blessing in disguise—a chance to work on fitness. The fitter you are, it will definitely strengthen your skills.
You need a different mindset to work now. But these are champion athletes, the best in the country. To be the best in the world, you need to do more than the others. Muhammad
Ali said, ‘Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ Virat is an example, he is one of the fittest cricketers around. The fitter you are, the stronger mindset you have. The trainer and physio are keeping scores of bowlers based on the work they are doing, on a weekly basis. We are well aware of what each one of them is doing.
We will rotate between physical work and skill work. So, they will all be on site the whole day, but at different times. Not more than four or five at a given point in time. Domestic games can be planned. Playing real matches will help them to return to top gear faster. We were preparing for the T20 World Cup, now we don’t know what its status is. We have T20 action ahead, as well as Test cricket. We may need to summon a mix of all cricketers for the camp.
It’s going to be difficult for the bowlers to follow. It’s not that it cannot be done. One will have to unlearn habits. When you are working with the players, you can make sure you don’t do it in training. On the field, it’s going to be difficult to monitor. Another point, while I am not a medical expert, I wonder if sweat and saliva are any different. Both are body fluids.
Not just cold climate, if the wicket is rough, what does one do? If the outfield is not that great, what do you do? What if the wicket leaves a sandpaper effect on the ball? But the rule is the same for all. We got to play within the rules. One has to make a conscious effort to start playing without saliva.
We’ll have to wait and see. The only thing is the wickets and outfield there will be good. But even there, saliva has been used for over a century to shine the ball. It’s an unknown. One will have to see how it behaves and respond.