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Anil Kumble gives blue print to restart cricket: Altered pitches, bio-safe zone for players

Anil Kumble gives blue print to restart cricket: Altered pitches, bio-safe zone for players. Kumble-led ICC Cricket Committee had banned the use of saliva to shine the ball.

Anil Kumble gives blue print to restart cricket: Altered pitches, bio-safe zone for players

Bengaluru, June 3: Anil Kumble, former Indian captain and the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, exhorted the cricketers to get used to the "new normal" playing conditions in the post-Coronavirus world, and gave a blue print to restart cricket.

Kumble said temporary ban of saliva to shine the ball is a first step and had taken to ensure the safety of the players. However, Kumble said the pitch can be altered to maintain the balance between ball and bat.

"Our intention was to start cricket. We can't call it normal but then this is the new normal that all of us need to get used to," Kumble said in a webinar organised by FICCI - Sporting Events: Embracing the New Normal.

"Safety and security of players is a major concern and with that in mind, and based on medical advice we believe saliva could be the major contributor to carrying this disease. So, we have banned the use of saliva although it is second nature in cricket. That is why players will find it hard to manage," said Kumble.

So, how to adjust to the saliva ban? "In training, they will have to start slowly. It's not just about coming back and playing but also about coming back after two and half months of lockdown.

"Especially if you are a bowler, you need to have those bowling overs under your belt before you start competing. So, it's important you slowly and gradually comeback to normalcy as much as you can.

"Players will have to have some sort of back up to load the body before playing a Test match. It is not easy for bowlers to bowl 30 overs and also tough for batsmen. So probably have a few friendly games before getting into playing a Test match," he said.

Kumble suggested altering the nature of pitch could bring in some balance between bat and ball.

"The advantage that cricket has over other sports is that there is an element of an adjustable variance in the pitch which not many sports have.

"We at cricket committee believe if you want better balance between bat and ball... all these years we have been very stringent on what to use and what not to use on the ball, but to again go back and relax that was something that we felt at cricket committee we should not do.

"In cricket, you could manage the pitch in such a way that you could bring about a better balance between the bat and the ball. The idea was to kickstart cricket. There will be challenges and you have to go one game at a time," he said.

Kumble also suggested creation of 'bio-safe zones' to help cricketers resume training and gain back their rhythm.

"If we can have bio-safe zones where 30 players can train and play some matches, it will be good. It is not easy for bowlers to bowl 30 or 40 overs in a match, even for batsmen, after not having played any cricket for so long. You need to build it up, with a few friendly games, before Test matches," said Kumble.

Story first published: Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 19:52 [IST]
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