I think the ball will swing even without saliva: Ishant Sharma

The cricket fraternity is buzzing with excitement as India will lock horns with New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship. The tournament is scheduled to start from June 18 to June 22 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Going into the contest, the bowlers are likely to face some trouble as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned the use of saliva in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

When India’s ace speedster Ishant Sharma was questioned regarding the same, the veteran asserted that not using saliva won’t affect the bowlers much. Ishant is of the view that the ball will swing more without the saliva and if the ball will be maintained well, then it will be easy for the bowlers to pick wickets.

“I think it is not that difficult. I think the ball will swing even without saliva and somebody needs to take responsibility to maintain the ball. And if the ball is maintained well in these conditions, then it becomes easier for the bowlers to take wickets in these conditions,” Ishant said while speaking on Cricket Connected.

You need to train differently and adapt to the change: Ishant Sharma

Further, the speedster also opened up on the pitch and weather conditions in England. The playing conditions in the English nation are a lot different from India, thus, it won’t be easy for the visitors to adapt quickly. Detailing his opinion on the same, Ishant added that the bowlers need to adjust to the lengths quickly but the quarantine had made the task difficult. Before starting their practice session, India completed a 14-day quarantine period in India followed by five-day isolation in the UK.

“You need to train differently and adapt to the change. In India, you get the reverse swing after some time, but in England, the length is fuller because of the swing. So, you have to adjust to the lengths. It is not easy to force that and the weather here is cooler so it takes time to acclimatize to the weather. And the quarantine makes it difficult because you cannot go to the ground, after IPL we were not allowed to go to the grounds and train. The way you train in the gym and the training on the ground is very different, so you have to adjust to that and it takes time,” Ishant Sharma concluded.