Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli caught applying saliva on ball despite ban

Applying saliva to the cricket ball has been banned as part of the Covid-19 rules world over, but Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli accidentally did just that in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals before realising his blunder. 

The incident occurred when the Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw played a drive on Navdeep Saini's delivery in the third over, after Kohli elected to field.

The RCB captain licked his fingers and was close to touching the ball when he realised his error and held his hand up as an apology.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, has banned the use of shining the ball with saliva and multiple offences could lead in awarding penalty runs to the opposite side.

“If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning,” the ICC rules state.

“A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommenced."

Comments

Submit