Ramiz Raja wants T20, ODI specialists in Pakistan Test squad for England series

Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja believes that the Men in Green need to revise their selection policy, after the ban on using saliva to shine the ball during matches. 

Players will not be allowed to use saliva to shine a ball when cricket restarts after the shutdown caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday.

If saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean it before play resumes and two warnings will result in a five-run penalty to the batting side.

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Speaking on this, Raja said that there needs to be a change in selection policy, as far as bowlers are concerned, ahead of Pakistan’s tour of England.

“During absence of saliva to shine the ball, teams won’t be able to win sessions of a Test match through and reverse swing and sideways movements,” said Raja. “Only those bowlers will succeed now, who bowl at an accurate line and length just like in limited-overs cricket.”

“When you look for such bowlers, the first ones that come to mind are Dilbar Hussain and Haris Rauf as they are both accurate and bowl at a good pace. With new regulations in place, these are precisely the kind of bowlers the selection committee will have to look at, ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming tour of England,” he added.   

The former Pakistan opener also spoke about how the role of spinners amid the ban on saliva. 

“The same goes for spinners like Yasir Shah, who might not be that effective because they also rely on shining the ball inorder to deceive the batsman,” he said. “Spinners like Mohammad Nawaz and Farzan Raja can be more effective due to their ability to bowl accurately with variations of pace.”