No saliva to polish ball: ICC makes restriction permanent.

DUBAI -- The International Cricket Council has announced a host of changes to its playing conditions ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, most significant of which is a permanent ban on the use of saliva to polish the ball.

The ICC had imposed the restriction earlier temporarily under COVID-related protocols. However, it has now been permanently banned.

"The Men's Cricket Committee led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly recommended changes to the playing conditions in MCC's updated third edition of the 2017 Code of the Laws of Cricket," read a statement issued by the ICC on Tuesday.

It said that the conclusions were also shared with the Women's Cricket Committee, who endorsed the recommendations.

The new playing conditions will come into effect on October 1, 2022, which means the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia next month will enforce the news rules, it added.

The main changes are as follows:

When a batter is out caught, the new batter will come in at the end the striker was, regardless of whether the batters crossed prior to the catch being taken.

Previously, in case the batters crossed before a catch was taken, the non-striker would take strike the next ball while the new batter would be at the non-striker's end.

This prohibition has been in place for over two years in international cricket as a COVID-related temporary measure and it is considered appropriate for the ban to be made permanent.

The outbreak of COVID-19 had enforced the rule to avoid transmission of the virus on the field. The rule came into play when cricket resumed after a break in July 2020 and will now be made permanent. During the saliva ban, the players resorted to the use of sweat to shine the ball, which has proven to be effective.

An incoming batter will now be required to be ready to take strike within two minutes in Tests and ODIs, while the current threshold of 90 seconds in T20Is remains unchanged.

Previously, the incoming batter had three minutes to take strike in ODIs and Tests but it has now been reduced. Failing to do so, the fielding...