With no use of saliva, it is very difficult to maintain the ball: Jasprit Bumrah

Day 1 of the ongoing first Test of the four-match series between India and Australia saw the visiting team getting an edge over the hosts as the bowlers failed to take wickets. The England batsmen produced a stunning show as they launched an assault on the opposition bowlers and made the most out of the batting-friendly pitch in Chennai.

At the stumps on Day 1, England had managed to post a massive total of 263 runs at a loss of three wickets with Joe Root playing at 128 runs. India’s most successful bowler on Day 1, Jasprit Bumrah with two wickets to his name of Dominic Sibley and Daniel Lawrence, opined on the bowler’s performance saying that it was extremely hard for the bowlers since the sweat was not effective to shine the ball.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned the use of saliva on the ball due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “The ball did become soft after a while and the wicket is on a flatter side with the bounce being less. You are left with limited options (to shine ball). We are trying to figure out what we can do with the limited things in hand, at that time

“It becomes difficult when the ball becomes soft and doesn’t shine really well because of new COVID-19 rules, we can’t use saliva, very difficult during that time to maintain the ball,” Bumrah said at the virtual media conference.

We are focussing on backing our players, Jasprit Bumrah

India’s pace sensation Bumrah is playing his maiden Test match in India. Speaking about the pitch of MA Chidambaram Stadium, the right-arm seamer said that the wicket was on a flatter side. However, the pacer added that the hosts are not trying to complain or give excuses.

“This is my first match over here. The wicket was on the flatter side, not a lot of lateral movement was there. It was abrasive but we are not trying to complain about how the wicket is but trying to figure out what the solutions are. We are trying to look at options that are there in our hand and create as many chances as we can,” he said.

India went with three spinners in the Chennai Test but left out Kuldeep Yadav. Instead of Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Washington Sundar, and Ravi Ashwin were included in the Playing XI. This raised a lot of eyebrows as many felt that India is not doing justice with the chinaman bowler.

When asked about the same, Jasprit Bumrah reckoned, “There could be a lot of ifs and buts but we back every individual in this team. In hindsight, you can say this or that after the game but there is still a job to be done, we are focussing on backing our players. Later on after the game we can discuss it.”