If you can maintain the ball's shine, it can reverse, reveals Mohammed Shami

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the ICC has banned the usage of saliva on a cricket ball in order to aid swing bowling, which although being a valid one, has received a lot of negative reactions from the bowlers, simply because of the fact that it minimises a bowler’s impact. While the call for making bowling friendly wickets are more than ever, Mohammed Shami now stated that players can maintain the shine of the ball, helping it reverse but curbing the natural instinct will be a cumbersome task.

"There will be difficulties. We have been accustomed to using saliva since childhood. It's been deeply ingrained ... If you are a fast bowler, instinctively you apply saliva to shine the ball. But yes, if you can maintain the shine of the dry ball, it will definitely reverse," Shami said in an Instagram chat with Rohit Juglan.

"Sweat and saliva work differently. I don't think it will help. I never tried bowling without saliva. Now because of COVID-19 pandemic, it's very important to stop using saliva," Shami further added.

Shami has been one of the best Test bowlers around in world cricket right now, for his ability to pick wickets even on unresponsive wickets. His seam movement has garnered many praises from the peers, but Shami attributed the same to rigorous practice to master that craft. Shami, who had to deal with a domestic violence case, further spoke about the challenges of being an international sportsman and the bearing it has on one’s mental health.

"I took a Kookaburra and threw it at the ceiling fan so that it comes back with the seam kissing the fan. I kept doing that for six-seven months lying in my bed with a fractured knee. If you think as a sportsman, you can't stay away from cricket. But when you think of family, and life, you will have sleepless nights and will keep troubling you... Family problems are more challenging.”