Mohammad Amir used saliva to shine the ball. (Screengrab/file)Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir, on Friday, was caught on camera using saliva to shine the ball in the first over of the England vs Pakistan T20I in Manchester. The left-arm speedster, while trudging back to his bowling mark, was seen glistening one side of the surface despite the ban imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the bowler did not repeat his act after umpires had a talk with him after first over. 5 run penalty can be imposed by the umpires if the rule is repeatedly violated.
The ban against the use of saliva was introduced in June 2020 by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“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 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.
In the videos which surfaced on social media, Amir can be seen breaching the rule more than once.
Hello @vikrantgupta73 @razi_haider @mohsinaliisb @DrNaumanNiaz @iRashidLatif68 @shoaib100mph @DanishKaneria61
Amir is using saliva in this COVID19 situation.. #ENGvPAK #ENGvsPAK @rawatrahul9 pic.twitter.com/X6qtzdCa5h— Aninda 🇮🇳 (@anindasarkar_) August 28, 2020
Mohammad Amir using saliva after every ball. @TheRealPCBMedia @ICC @ECB_cricket @ESPNcricinfo @TheRealPCB #PakvsEng #Amir #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Kv3yynr7hV
— Sultan (@smk_77) August 28, 2020
— Gavin Plume (@ChairBadger) August 28, 2020
No penalty has been levied by the match officials so far.