The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday lifted the ban on use of saliva on the ball in IPL 2025 after majority of captains agreed to its proposal.
The decision was taken at the meeting of all IPL captains held in Mumbai.
"The saliva ban has been lifted. Majority of captains were in favour of the move," a top BCCI official said.
The International Cricket Council had banned the age-old practice of applying saliva to shine the ball as a precautionary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the world body made the ban permanent.
The IPL too included the ICC ban in its playing conditions in the aftermath of the pandemic but its guidelines are outside the purview of the sport's governing body.
With the development on Thursday, the IPL becomes the first major cricketing event to re-introduce saliva's use after the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the sidelines of the ICC Champions Trophy, senior India pacer Mohammed Shami had spoken about the need to use saliva on the ball in what has become a predominantly batters' game.
The likes of Vernon Philander and Tim Southee had backed Shami's call.
"We keep appealing that we should be allowed to use saliva so that we can bring reverse swing back into the game and it becomes interesting," Shami had said during the 50-over event in Dubai, where India emerged victorious.
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