In a moment that sparked chuckles and curiosity across the cricketing world, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) seasoned pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar admitted to forgetting a key rule change in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).Â
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently lifted the saliva ban, a restriction imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic to curb virus transmission. Now, with the ban gone, bowlers are free to use saliva to shine the ball, and Bhuvneshwar, who forgot about it, is ready to make up for lost time in RCB’s clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 18 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The saliva ban, introduced in 2020, had forced bowlers to rely solely on sweat to polish the ball, often limiting their ability to generate reverse swing, a skill Bhuvneshwar has mastered over his career.Â
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Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Mitchell Starc recently showcased its potential, delivering a barrage of reverse-swinging yorkers in a thrilling super over win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday.
Bhuvneshwar admitted that he did not remember that the saliva ban had been lifted but promised to implement it in RCB’s upcoming fixture against PBKS to check if this helps him or not.
"I forgot that I can use saliva. Yesterday when the staff told me, I didn’t know that I have to use it. I am not sure if it will help or not, but now that I remember, definitely in tomorrow’s match I will put some saliva and see if it helps or not," Bhuvneshwar said as quoted.
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RCB Aiming to End Home Jinx
Bhuvneshwar, who joined RCB for INR 10.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, has been a cornerstone of their pace attack alongside Josh Hazlewood. With six wickets in five matches this season, he has proven his worth, but the prospect of adding saliva to his arsenal could elevate his game further.Â
Both Bengaluru and Punjab are locked at eight points from six games, with RCB sitting third on the IPL 2025 points table, thanks to a superior Net Run Rate. Fresh off a commanding nine-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals, where Phil Salt and Virat Kohli smashed half-centuries, RCB are now desperate to break their home jinx.Â
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Despite dominant away victories in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Jaipur, Rajat Patidar and Co. are yet to win at Chinnaswamy this season, losing to Gujarat Titans (GT) and Delhi Capitals.
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