ICC Chairman Anil Kumble Bats For Pitches Which Can Help Strike Balance Between Bat And Ball

"In cricket, you could manage the pitch in such a way that you could bring about a better balance between the bat and the ball. The idea was to kickstart cricket. There will be challenges and you have to go one game at a time," added the 49-year old.

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The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Cricket Committee Chairman Anil Kumble on Wednesday made certain pertinent points on future of the sport amid the COVID-19 pandemic, stating cricket has an advantage over other sports in terms of the surface which can be prepared to have a level playing contest between bat and ball. "We at cricket committee believe if you want better balance between bat and ball..all these years we have been very stringent on what to use and what not to use on the ball..but to again go back and relax that was something that we felt at cricket committee we should not do. "In cricket, you could manage the pitch in such a way that you could bring about a better balance between the bat and the ball. The idea was to kickstart cricket. There will be challenges and you have to go one game at a time," added the 49-year old. Giving his take on the saliva ban proposed by the ICC, keeping in mind the health and safety of the players  against the lethal COVID-19 virus, the ICC Commitee Chairman said that the players will find it hard to manage and will take time to adjust to the new normal. He added that the ICC had not advocated the use of an alternate mechanism to shine the ball without using saliva. "Safety and security of players is a major concern and with that in mind, and based on medical advice we believe saliva could be the major contributor to carrying this disease. "So we banned the use of saliva although it is second nature in cricket. That is why players will find it hard to manage. In training, they will have to start slowly. It's not just about coming back and playing but also about coming back after two and half months of lockdown," said legendary leg-spinner and former India captain Kumble. Kumble said the committee decided not to allow that as that has been the custom all along. In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICC Cricket Committee has been forced to envisage certain changes to negate the effect of the virus on the health and safety of the players as and when they get back to playing cricket on the green turf. "Our intention was to start cricket. We can't call it normal but then this is the new normal that all of us need to get used to," Kumble said during a webinar organised by FICCI called Sporting Events: Embracing the New Normal." "Especially if you are a bowler, you need to have those bowling overs under your belt before you start competing. So it's important you slowly and gradually comeback to normalcy as much as you can.