It will be difficult to suddenly start playing without saliva, feels Umesh Yadav

India pacer Umesh Yadav felt that the ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball could make things difficult for bowlers.

While Umesh Yadav felt that it won't make much of a difference in white-ball cricket as the ball does not swing after a few overs, the longest format of the game would get affected and the bowlers would need to find new ways of swinging the ball and would have to try to figure out these new ways once outdoor practice begins.

"Yes, it will be difficult to suddenly start playing without the saliva. We haven't started practicing yet. Once I get on the ground and practice playing without the use of saliva, only then I will know how effective it is. With the old ball, it's still okay; but with the new ball, I don't know how much it will shine minus the saliva. As the white ball swings for less time, so for T20s it's okay. But the main problem will be when we will play Test matches. If we can't use saliva, then we will have to think of new techniques to make the ball swing. Once practice starts only then we will know how to tackle it," Umesh Yadav told IANS.

Umesh Yadav also shed light on how difficult it was as an athlete to keep their minds focused on training and eating right, and not taking a day off or a break from the routine, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He revealed that he keeps pushing himself to do 1-2 hrs of workout daily without fail.

I want IPL to happen this year: Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav has been India's backup pacer in the longest format and has been doing extremely well in home Tests, reverse-swinging the old ball with aplomb.

It was the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the home season of 2019 that gave Umesh Yadav an opportunity to shine as he, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami took a combined 81 wickets on dead Indian pitches.

He believes that there is a very healthy competition for spots in the Indian team as far as the longest format is concerned, but wanted to perform in the IPL to make a case for himself in India's white-ball squad.

"Right now I have no idea if the IPL will happen this year or not, but I hope it does. As we haven't played any matches for a long time now, it is important to play domestic matches before international series starts. As lots of rules have changed now, so at least we will have an idea how to take the new rules ahead and how to cope up with them, how to bowl in a particular situation, etc. So yes, I want IPL to happen this year," Umesh Yadav stated.