New Delhi | The BCCI on Thursday lifted the ban on use of saliva on the ball in the upcoming Indian Premier League after majority of captains agreed to its proposal.
The decision was taken at the captains' meeting in Mumbai.
"The saliva ban has been lifted. Majority of captains were in favour of the move," a top BCCI official told PTI.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had banned the age-old practice of applying saliva to shine the ball as a precautionary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the world body made the ban permanent.
The IPL too included the ICC ban in its playing conditions in the aftermath of the pandemic but its guidelines are outside the purview of the sport's governing body.
With the development on Thursday, the IPL becomes the first major cricketing event to re-introduce saliva's use after the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Delhi | Captains in the Indian Premier League will not be banned for over-rate offences and instead will be docked demerit points.
The call was taken at the captains' meeting in Mumbai on Thursday.
The move comes after Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant, captaining Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals respectively, were handed a one match ban for the team's third over-rate offence in the 2024 edition.
Hardik will be serving that ban in the 2025 edition by missing the first game against CSK.
"A Level 1 offence will lead to deduction of 25 to 75 percent match fees with demerit points which will be calculated for next three years. Level 2 offence if serious will result in four demerit points.
"For every four demerit points accumulated, the match referee can impose a penalty, either in the form of a 100 percent fine or additional demerit points. These demerit points could convert into a match ban in the future but for slow overrate there won't be a match ban," said a BCCI source.