By Admin 
If you follow cricket closely, you might have heard the name ‘reverse bowling’. In the cricket of about a decade or two ago, bowlers used to use reverse bowling a lot. Due to this, the ball remained helpful for the bowlers even after it became old. But in the present era of cricket, this word and art is being used less and less. So let us know what reverse bowling is and why it is not used anymore.
What is reverse bowling?
The bowler swings the ball with the new shining ball. This is called swing bowling. But as the ball gets older, bowlers start getting reverse swing. The old ball is shined on one side and allowed to age on the other side. In this way, when a ball with a smooth or rough surface goes into the air, the ball starts swinging.
Reverse swing also requires high speed. This bowling was started by Pakistan’s fast bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz. Then gradually it was adopted by players from other countries.
Now why don’t bowlers use reverse swing?
At present, the biggest reason behind the decline in the use of reverse swing is the ban on saliva. Bowlers used to lubricate and shine one side of the ball with the help of saliva, which helps the most in reverse, but after Covid-19, the International Cricket Council had banned the use of saliva.
Apart from this, nowadays the pitch is much better maintained. Due to this the pitch does not become rough and the ball does not become rougher than one side. Whereas in ODI cricket, two balls are now used, due to which neither ball is old enough to get reverse.
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