"Sweat Works Just Fine" – Mitchell Starc Shuts Down the Saliva Debate After Match-Winning Performance

Mitchell Starc, the Aussie pace star playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, recently shared his thoughts on the use of saliva in cricket. After helping DC win against Rajasthan Royals, he said that saliva is still useful in red-ball cricket but doesn’t make much difference in white-ball formats. He added that many bowlers have been talking about this lately especially with all the changes in the game.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICC had banned the use of saliva on the ball, and even after cricket resumed the rule stayed for a while. However, the BCCI lifted that ban for IPL 2025. After the change, Mitchell Starc shared his opinion, saying he still prefers using sweat over saliva, especially in white-ball cricket, where saliva doesn’t make much of a difference.

"I don't use it. I think it's a myth. Some people really believe in it, but I don’t think there's much difference between sweat and saliva,” Mitchell Starc said in a chat with Star Sports after the match. “Maybe it helps a bit in red-ball cricket, but in white-ball cricket, I don’t think it makes any real difference,” he added.

Shami Calls for Saliva Ban to Be Lifted: "Reverse Swing Is Dying"

Earlier, Indian pacer Mohammed Shami had expressed his frustration over the lack of reverse swing and said he is urging the ICC to lift the ban on using saliva to shine the ball. He believes it's an important part of traditional fast bowling.

Starc was the standout performer with the ball in DC’s last game against RR. After a strong start by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Rana, RR needed just 9 runs from the final over. Starc held his nerve, gave away only 8 runs, and pushed the match into a Super Over. There too, he conceded just 11 runs, which DC chased down in just 4 balls. With this thrilling win, Delhi Capitals now sit on top of the IPL 2025 points table. Their next match is against the Gujarat Titans on April 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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