Rajasthan batsman Robin Uthappa, on Wednesday, appeared to have breached the International Cricket Council's (ICC) pandemic protocol after he was spotted applying saliva on the ball during his side's 37-run defeat to Kolkata.
The incident happened in the third over of the innings soon after Uthappa dropped Sunil Narine while the West Indies all-rounder was batting on 0. Narine didn't hurt Rajasthan much, and despite dropping the catch, Uthappa came into limelight after he took the ball and applied saliva on it.
Robin Uthappa just used saliva on the cricket ball. Is it not banned by @ICC#RRvKKR#IPL2020 @bhogleharsha pic.twitter.com/EWilsl9Z01
— बेरोज़गार (@ItsRaviMaurya) September 30, 2020
The ICC is yet to issue a statement on the incident, but it the second such event in the ongoing edition of the Indian T20 League. During Delhi's 15-run loss to Hyderabad on Tuesday, spinner Amit Mishra was caught on the camera as he applied saliva on his hands and waited for a brief moment to apply it on the ball.
ICC, in June, declared that the use of saliva to shine the ball is now prohibited in the wake of the global pandemic.
“If a player does apply saliva to the ball, the umpires will manage the situation with some leniency during an initial period of adjustment for the players, but subsequent instances will result in the team receiving a warning,” it had stated in its Standard Operating Procedure for the game.
“A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommenced,” the ICC notification read.
On the batting front, it was another nightmarish outing for Uthappa, who was brought from KOL for Rs. 3 crore in the 2020 auction, as he only managed to score a brace from seven deliveries. He is, in fact, yet to score in double figures. Meanwhile, as far his antics are concerned, this is how neutrals are reacting:
Robin Uthappa just used saliva on the ball after dropping that catch!!!!! Surely there's got to be some kind of punishment?!
— Goku. 🦇 (@KingKosser) September 30, 2020
Robin Uthappa drops a sitter then applies saliva on the ball. Are the officials sleeping? #RRvsKKR #IPL2020 #RR
— Samrat Chakraborty (@dahnumber7) September 30, 2020
Dropped a catch
— राम भक्त दिल्ली कैपिटल्स ✌️ (@MayankAnand014) September 30, 2020
2 (7)
Applied saliva on the Ball
Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa was caught applying saliva to shine the ball tonight during #RRvsKKR. 😶
— Aditya Singh Rawat (@Catslayer_999) September 30, 2020
While this under normal circumstances would be fine #ICC has banned this due to #coronavirus threat.
It is yet to be seen what action will be taken against the player!#IPL2020 #IPLupdates pic.twitter.com/tVeB5rtqnL
Robin uthappa drops a sitter and
— Rasesh Mandani (@rkmrasesh) September 30, 2020
adds some saliva to the ball..little intent to take undue advantage... perhaps a routine to dust off disappointment #rrvskkr #IPL2020
I don't know if officials are keeping a note of it. Robin Uthappa applied SALIVA to the ball right after dropping the catch. @IamNicck
— Faisal (@FaisalS70965365) September 30, 2020
