The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering lifting the ban on using saliva to shine the ball in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the final decision will depend on the inputs from team captains. As all ten captains convene ahead of IPL 2025 on Thursday, the BCCI is expected to discuss the saliva ban. If all captains agree, the ban could be lifted for the season. According to a report by PTI, BCCI insiders have revealed that internal discussions have already taken place regarding the matter. Also Read: IPL 2025: Shubman Gill wants to maximize the powerplay The International Cricket Council (ICC) initially imposed the saliva ban during the COVID-19 pandemic as a precautionary measure before permanently enforcing it in 2022. Since then, IPL has followed ICC’s guidelines. However, the board is now considering reversing the decision. A top BCCI official told PTI, "Using saliva on the ball was part of the essence of the game until COVID hit. Now that we don't have that threat anymore, we feel there is no harm in lifting the ban on saliva in the IPL. We understand that it makes a bigger impact in red-ball cricket, but even if it can help bowlers a bit in the white-ball game, it should be allowed in the IPL, which is a trend-setting tournament. Let's see what the captains decide." Shami, Southee request ICC to reconsider saliva ban During the ICC Champions Trophy, Indian pacer Mohammed Shami spoke about the importance of using saliva for fast bowlers. Former New Zealand pacer Tim Southee also supported Shami’s views, urging the ICC to reconsider the ban. “We keep appealing that we should be allowed to use saliva so that we can bring reverse swing back into the game and it becomes interesting,” Shami said during the tournament. Southee backed Shami, saying that cricket has become a batting-dominated game and bowlers deserve some advantage. "We see the game going the way it's going and seeing sides score 362 and more often than not over 300 in this format. I think there needs to be something in the bowlers' favour, and whether that's a little bit of saliva, then yeah, I don't see why they couldn't afford to get that back in," he said. As per the existing rule, if a bowler is caught applying saliva on the ball, the umpires must warn the captain. Teams are allowed two warnings per innings, and any further violations result in a fine, with the player losing at least 25% of their match fee. With the IPL captains' meeting scheduled for March 20, the saliva ban will be one of the key topics of discussion, and a final decision is expected before IPL 2025 begins.