Nothing from the sweet is allowed to go on the ball: Chris Woakes

English pacer Chris Woakes was the first person to talk about the mint gate. Recently, video footages of Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli emerged which showed him applying something on the ball in the Rajkot Test. The footage indicated the application of some sweet substance that Virat was chewing at that stage. However, with the Rajkot Test being an old affair now, no investigations took place.

In a similar incident down under, South African skipper Faf du Plessis was seen applying some sweet substance on the ball during the second Test against Australia. The footages emerged after the conclusion of the Test at Hobart. Faf du Plessis was found guilty of ball tampering and punished subsequently.

Although, Faf managed to get away without any suspensions, he was fined 100 per cent of his match fees for his actions. Many condemned the move by the ICC to fine Faf du Plessis. His teammates stood in support of him though. With a similar footage arising encircling Virat Kohli, the news did concern a lot of people.

Some believed that the footages must be checked and the laws be equal for all players. However, Kohli escaped any such trials from the ICC eventually. Now, Chris Woakes gave his opinion on the same in a recent interview.

Also read – Nasser Hussain defends Kohli and Faf du Plessis in ball tampering allegations

Woakes mentioned that the players often take up sweets during the drinks break. These sweets range from being mint gums to other energy bars. However, he stressed on the fact that nothing from the sweets must be applied to the ball.

“Occasionally at drinks breaks, the guys will come and have sweets or mints – just to freshen up and keep the energy going. But nothing from the sweet is allowed to go on the ball, or is supposed to. So, therefore, we don’t do that. It’s just a sugar boost really, I suppose,” Chris Woakes quoted.

He added further that applying anything on the ball is violating the rules. He believes that there are cameras to be doing the work of judging and analysing any such allegations. “If you’re seen putting a sweet on to the ball, I think that obviously is against the rules. But everything else seems to be a little bit of a grey area. We won’t be changing anything we do when we go out there this week. There’s cameras always on you and always has been … there’s nothing we need to change,” he added.

Chris Woakes is likely to feature in the Mohali Test in place of injured Stuart Broad.