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Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir was spotted using saliva to glisten the ball on multiple occasions during the first T20I between England and Pakistan in Manchester on Friday.
Amir’s act is a direct violation of the rules and regulations laid down by the apex cricketing body to counter the threat of COVID-19.
As cricket resumed after a long hiatus, the International Cricket Council (ICC) came up with new regulations, and one of them barred bowlers from using saliva to shine the ball.
“Players will not be permitted to use saliva to shine the ball. 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 had earlier said in a statement.
“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,” it added.
No penalty has been levied on Amir
The whole incident occurred in the fourth over, while Amir was bowling his first of the match. He was caught using saliva on multiple occasions, without the knowledge of on-field umpires. Although his act is a clear breach of the ICC rules, no penalty has been levied on the speedster.
https://twitter.com/smk_77/status/1299419544184913923
Earlier, in the Test series between the same nations, Dominic Sibley accidentally applied saliva on the ball. Sibley, however, soon realised his mistake and informed the umpire Michael Gough, who had to sanitise the ball.
As far as the match is concerned, rain once again played the spoilsport as the game was abandoned even without the completion of the first innings.
