[Watch] Amit Mishra Caught Applying Saliva on Ball During LSG v RCB


image-lgcgpb0l                                                                                    Amit Mishra bowling for LSG (Source:Twitter)

Veteran Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra raised eyebrows on Monday evening after he was caught applying saliva on the ball during his spell for the Lucknow Super Giants against the hosts, Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mishra, who was invoked as an "Impact Player" by the KL Rahul-led SuperGiants, was caught applying saliva on the white kookaburra ball at the start of the 12th over.Incidentally, the veteran leg-spinner went on to dismiss former RCB and India skipper Virat Kohli during the same over after the latter mistimed an attempted pull on a shortish delivery straight down deep midwicket's throat.

Applying saliva on a cricket ball used to be a huge part of the game in the pre-covid world, especially in red-ball cricket. It helped the bowlers prepare the ball in such a way that would aid reverse-swing later on in the innings.

Watch the video here:

However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic changed all that. Fearing the prospect of saliva being a possible transmitter of the deadly virus, the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned its usage from all forms of the game. It was subsequently banned by the BCCI too.

Coming back to Amit Mishra, the leg-spinner delivered just 2 overs, in which he conceded 18 runs and claimed the prized wicket of Kohli.

The match eventually proved to be one for the ages, with LSG beating RCB by 1 wicket on the final delivery of the game.