'I didn't know that I have to use it' - Bhuvneshwar Kumar admits he forgot saliva ban has been lifted

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lifted the ban on using saliva to shine the cricket ball ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. This made IPL the first major cricket league to reintroduce the practice after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mohammed Shami was one of the bowlers who urged the ICC to reintroduce the usage of saliva after the practice was banned temporarily in May 2020 as a COVID-19 precaution and permanently in September 2022. While the ICC are yet to budge, the Indian cricket board has removed the ban, allowing bowlers in the IPL to use reverse swing as a weapon to counter the hard-hitting batters.

However, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar honestly admitted that he didn't remember the ban had been lifted. The right-arm pacer said that he wasn't sure whether it would help, but he promised to try it in RCB's next game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Friday, April 18, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

“I forgot that I can use saliva. Yesterday when the staff told me, I didn’t know that I have to use it. I am not sure if it will help or not, but now that I remember, definitely in tomorrow’s match I will put some saliva and see if it helps or not,” Bhuvneshwar was quoted as saying by India Today.

Mine and Hazlewood's roles keep changing from match-to-match: Bhuvneshwar

RCB have a strong new-ball attack at their disposal, with the Meerut-born forming a partnership with Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood. The Uttar Pradesh seamer said that their roles keep changing in every match, but the main target is to take wickets and perform well for the team.

“The role cannot be defined before the match. Normally, if you look at our bowling, Hazlewood and I both bowl with the new ball, and both bowl at the death. So it's a pretty standard role we have, but it keeps changing from match to match. It depends on how we bowl in the first few overs, how the team is batting, and so on. But yes, being experienced bowlers, we both want to take wickets and want to do well for the team,” he said.