Umesh Yadav speaks on saliva ban revocation in IPL 2025, hails Jasprit Bumrah

By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 30 (ANI): Indian pace veteran Umesh Yadav on Sunday spoke on revocation of the saliva ban in the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that it will help bowlers in white-ball cricket when the ball is new.
Umesh was at an AstroLawn event in Greater Noida.
Speaking about the saliva ban, Umesh said, "I think it might make a difference in white-ball cricket. But I think it depends on the situation, because there are night matches, the ball gets wet due to dew, so saliva does not matter at that time. When the ball is new, saliva is an important thing... So I think it is a very good thing that it has come back. It would help the fast bowlers a lot."
Speaking about Jasprit Bumrah, the pace spearhead of India, Umesh said that he is currently the best bowler of this generation, all because of his "hardwork, practice and thinking".
"When you have that talent, it is important to showcase it. When Bumrah came, and the way he has grown, he has always tried to do better. That is why he is here at this level. It is his hard work, practice and thinking that have brought him here. When he started in the IPL and worked with Lasith Malinga, his Yorker got better. He learnt a lot within such a short time and now he is the best fast bowler of this generation," said Umesh about his teammate.
Speaking of if the T20s have become excessively batting-friendly, Umesh said that the format will always be batter friendly as the ball does not get worn out much and there is barely any reverse swing.
"T20 was always dominant for batters. The ball does not swing or reverse during 20 overs. The ball does not get that worn out in T20s. The white ball does not move much, and wickets are often flat. If you do not execute well in T20s, you will go for runs. If one focuses on their execution and line or length, they get rewarded too. If a team scores 280, it could be because of poor execution. It will forever remain a batter-dominated game. In IPL, teams would be aiming to score as much as possible," said Umesh.
Speaking about MS Dhoni coming to bat at number nine during a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) home match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Umesh said, "It depends on the team or Dhoni himself. They decide his position." (ANI)