Anil Kumble views COVID-19 as an opportunity to bring back spinners in Test cricket 

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ICC Board Meeting

Banning the use of saliva to keep the ball shining has left bowlers worried. Several former and current cricketers have been suggesting an alternative to saliva, and the latest to join the bandwagon is former India spin ace, Anil Kumble. Kumble wants teams to utilise pitches properly to make the game competitive and not batsmen-friendly.

Anil Kumble heads the ICC committee which banned the use of saliva due to COVID-19, while allowing sweat to be used as an alternative. Giving his opinion on the matter, Anil Kumble has said that preparing bowler-friendly pitches has the potential to solve the problem.

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"The advantage that cricket has over other sports is that there is an element of adjustable variance in the pitch, which not many sports have," Kumble said during a webinar, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday. "You could manage the pitch in such a way that you could bring about a better balance between bat and ball."

Anil Kumble advocates bringing back spinners in Tests

Anil Kumble further added that COVID-19 is an opportunity to "bring spinners" back into Test cricket, especially in countries outside the Indian subcontinent. "You can probably leave grass on the surface or even rough it up and have two spinners," Kumble said. "Let's get spinners back in the game in a Test match."

"Because if it's a one-day or T20 game, you're not worried about the ball or shining of the ball. Sweat can certainly take care of that. I would love to have two spinners playing in Australia, two spinners playing in England (in Tests), which never happens. Not often do you see that happening.”

Meanwhile, the West Indies cricket board has confirmed its team is travelling to England next month for a full-fledged series. As for the Indian cricket team, there is no update from the BCCI on when cricket will resume.

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