"It is unhygienic, but will affect reverse swing" - Aakash Chopra on saliva ban imposed by MCC

Former Indian opener and cricket expert Aakash Chopra has provided his opinion on the saliva ban imposed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Chopra believes the decision deserves praise but feels it will affect bowlers who utilize reverse swing as well.

For a long time, saliva has been used to shine the ball and help bowlers swing it. However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the saliva ban was imposed temporarily. MCC have realized that the ball still swings with no use of saliva and have now made the ban permanent.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra explained how unhygienic using saliva was and why he agreed with the MCC's decision to ban its use.

"Saliva ban was imposed due to COVID. The committee feels that there hasn't been any significant damage to the swing as the ball still swings a fair amount. So let's continue playing with that. I am okay with it because it is unhygienic."

However, Chopra also stressed the disadvantages of not using saliva to shine the ball, the major one being reverse swing. He feels the use of a foreign material like wax to shine the ball is something that the MCC can think about. Chopra added:

"However, this will definitely have an effect on the reverse swing. So the second new ball can be made due a bit early. Or to shine the ball you can make use of a material like wax just to balance the contest, especially in dry conditions."

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Aakash Chopra on no changes to bouncer rule

There was a lot of debate about whether bouncers should be a part of cricket, especially after the tragic death of late Australian opener Phil Hughes. However, Aakash Chopra believes bouncers are an important aspect of cricket and the MCC made the right decision by not making any amendments in that regard.

"We all are shaken after the event of Phil Hughes. But ICC have made no changes to the bouncer rule. It is an important part of our game. Of course there is danger but there is some amount of risk in any contact sport."

Aakash Chopra feels the on-field umpires can take a call on whether there is too much use of the bouncer and if they feel the batter is not safe. He added:

"The on-field umpire can step in and have the authority to stop the bowler from bowling bouncers if they feel the batter's health is in danger, and I think that is the right thing to do."

All the rule changes made by the MCC will come into effect from October 1, 2022.