It is said old habits die hard and two of the most experienced campaigners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 had momentary lapses in concentration as they violated the no-saliva rule in effect in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Senior Rajasthan Royals batsman Robin Uthappa was caught on camera applying saliva on the ball after a dropped catch in their 37-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on Wednesday. It was a poor outing for Uthappa with both the bat and on the field as the former KKR batsman struggled to get going with the bat for the third successive time in IPL 2020.
Uthappa dropped a sitter off Sunil Narine as early as the 3rd over when the West Indies all-rounder was batting on 0. Narine though did not hurt Rajasthan Royals much as he was out for 15 but RR were denied an early wicket. Right after dropping the catch, Uthappa took the ball and applied saliva on it. It was certainly a reflex action as Uthappa was trying to put behind the disappointment and focus on the next delivery
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Committee had banned the usage of saliva as a study showed an elevated risk of transmission of the novel coronavirus through saliva. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in its SOPs also banned the usage of saliva at IPL 2020.Uthappa's violation of the no-saliva run comes a day after Amit Mishra was seen inadvertently using saliva on the ball during Delhi Capitals' loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Mishra applied saliva on his hands and waited for a second or two before using the hand to toss the ball up before his run-up.
In the lead up to IPL 2020, a lot was spoken about the new rule changes in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Doing away with old habits, especially when it comes to the ban on saliva, was always going to be a tough challenge. However, players have adapted well to the new rules and the lack of atmosphere in the absence of fans at the stadiums.
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