Saliva ban impact will be on Test pacers: Karthik

Don’t tweak IPL format or player combinations, says KKR CEO Venky Mysore

Dinesh Karthik.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik said on Thursday the proposed ban on use of saliva to shine the cricket ball would impact pace bowlers in the longer version of the game.

“In ODIs and T20s it will not make much of a difference, but in Tests it's going to be a massive challenge. It will be tough especially for the (faster) bowlers,” said Karthik at the online launch of KKR’s Sahayata Vahan (assistance vehicle) to distribute essential items to cyclone-affected people in West Bengal.

Need for swing

“When the ball is new for the first 20-30 overs, on most grounds in the world, conventional swing is what they look for. If you don't apply saliva, it's going to be tough for them to swing the ball,” he said.

Players would need about a month to get back to full form after the restrictions were lifted, Karthik said.

“Especially the fast bowlers, because they are coming off a very quiet time. To go and start bowling at 140-150 kmph through the day, it's going to be a massive challenge for them,” he said.

Karthik said if the Indian Premier League (IPL) happened, it would be nice to win the trophy for the cyclone-affected people of West Bengal. “We are emotionally attached to Kolkata. I think winning the IPL is the least we can do for the State.”

KKR CEO Venky Mysore, who flagged off the assistance vehicle with West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, did not favour tinkering with the format of the IPL or combination of players.

“The quality of the product has made it really special. It is safe to say the collective view is that we have to have the tournament in its full format, the same number of matches, with all the players.

The backbone

“It is primarily the Indian players who are the backbone of any team. But we should recognise, when you look at even our own team, a Sunil Narine, an Andre Russell, an Eoin Morgan and now a Pat Cummins come as a combination with the Indians to make it really special.

"The IPL as a product has become the biggest spectacle, which has caught the imagination not only of India but also of the world," said Mysore.