Anil Kumble bats for bowler-friendly tracks

Last week, the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued stratagems dedicated to the secure and prudent management of the ball. The ICC committee headed by Anil Kumble forbade the use of saliva to shine the ball, keeping in mind how contagious the virus is. 

With various bowlers particularly bothered about the balance tilting significantly towards the batsmen, Kumble recommended teams to prepare bowler-friendly pitches to maintain a state of equilibrium between the ball and the ball. 

“Looking after bowlers is not just allowing artificial substances. You can leave grass on the surface or even rough it up and have two spinners, ” - Anil Kumble was quoted as saying in FICCI webinar. 

The former Indian leg-spinner saw this as an opportunity for spinners to play a pivotal role in countries like Australia and England. Kumble, who registered 957 international wickets, said he would love to see two spinners bowling in tandem outside the subcontinent, specifically in the SENA countries.

“Let’s get the spinner back in the game; in a Test. We would love to have two spinners in Australia or England, which does not happen often. You (only) see that in the subcontinent.”

The ICC's call to prohibit the use of saliva didn't bode well with the pace bowlers. Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah urged the apex body to find an alternative. However, Anil Kumble did not even want to loosen the restrictions, keeping in mind that saliva could be the major contributor to the spread of the virus.

“All these years we’ve been very strict on what not to use on the ball. Now to go back and relax it we felt is something we should not do. In the recent past, ICC came hard on certain players, and Cricket Australia came out even harder. We did discuss but unanimously agreed we won’t take that route, ” he said.

The 49-year-old believes that the enhanced law to shine the ball will not have a significant influence on white-ball cricket. 

“In an ODI or a T20 game, we are not really worried about shining the ball. Sweat can take care of that.” - Kumble added.