The ban on the use of saliva on the ball in the upcoming IPL was lifted on Thursday after majority of captains agreed, making it the first major cricket competition to do away with the restriction that was a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh welcomed the move.
"It is good that bowlers can use saliva again, it's good thing for bowlers. Soon we will see it in international cricket because it is easy to shine the ball with saliva. It brings swing for pacers and drift for spinners," the former off-spinner said.
Besides the use of saliva, the IPL this time will also witness two balls being used in the second innings of night games to counter the dew factor.
"This move is also good. We have seen how dew can affect a game. It will be up to the captains to decide when to take the second ball. I feel they will take when the ball will get wet and will be difficult to handle," Harbhajan said.
Harbhajan, however, felt the current crop of spinners lack aggression.
"I am sorry to say in T20s or IPL, a lot of spinners are bowling like fast bowlers. They are not spinning the ball. They are not attacking and don't have the intent of taking wickets. Spinners need to be little more brave, take chances.
"They need to spin the ball, look to flight it, take chances and be in the match," he explained.
Harbhajan said the focus will be on a lot of young Indian players in the upcoming IPL, but his eyes will be on Riyan Parag, who will captain Rajasthan Royals in the first three matches in place of regular skipper Sanju Samson, who is still recovering from a finger injury.
"Every year the IPL brings to spotlight a lot of youngsters but my eyes will be on Riyan Parag. Assam played well under his captaincy. He is a tremendous talent, I want to see him as a grown man," he said.
"I will also closely follow Yashasvi (Jaiswal), Shubman (Gill), Abhishek Sharma. They are future of Indian cricket. Among bowlers, my eyes will be on Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy."
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