WTC Finals: The ball will swing even without saliva, it just needs to be held properly – says Ishant Sharma

Senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma said the Dukes ‘ ball in England would swing even without saliva, adding that it was essential for the player to take responsibility for “maintaining” the ball’s brilliance.

Ishant Sharma, who has played 101 Test matches and country cricket in England, stated that a “maintained ball” makes it easier for a bowler to take wickets in English conditions.

“Team India’s pacer Ishant Sharma shares his views on how the use of saliva probably won’t be that important during the ICC World Test Championship Final, “I think it is not that difficult. I think the ball will swing even without saliva and somebody needs to take responsibility to maintain the ball. And if the ball is maintained well in these conditions, then it becomes easier for the bowlers to take wickets in these conditions,” Ishant told on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

Further, the 32-year-old reckoned that acclimatising to English weather takes time and changing the training become different. The Delhi pacer also talked about adjustments in the lengths of the ball on English pitches and conditions.

“You need to train differently and adapt to the change. In India, you get the reverse swing after some time, but in England, the length is fuller because of the swing. So, you have to adjust to the lengths. It is not easy to force that and the weather here is cooler so it takes time to acclimatize to the weather. And the quarantine makes it difficult because you cannot go to the ground, after IPL we were not allowed to go to the grounds and train. The way you train in the gym and the training on the ground is very different, so you have to adjust to that and it takes time,” Ishant Sharma told on same show.

India face New Zealand in the final of World Test Championship (WTC) final from June 18 and then play a 5-Test series vs England from August 4.