ICC Cricket Committee chairman Anil Kumble on Tuesday said that the inexperience of local umpires, who are expected to officiate in Test matches once action resumes, is the reason behind recommending an extra review, which, according to him, will give a level playing field to both the teams.

Besides recommending the usage of sweat on the ball, the Kumble-led ICC committee has also suggested local umpires and an additional review in Test matches in the post Covid-19 scenario.

Explaining the panel’s recommendations, the former India captain said the suggestion to use local umpires was made because of travel restrictions around the world which are expected to stay.

“I think the need of the hour was to start cricket. We also felt that because of travel restrictions, there could be quarantine measures. You don’t have too many elite umpires in the panel. So, we felt that for cricket to kickstart, its best to use local umpires,” Kumble said on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

“Most countries don’t have the experience, the local umpires don’t have the experience of a Test match or being part of a Test match. The reason that we started neutral umpiring 20 years ago was because there was the perception of a bias.

“The recommendation for an extra review for both teams is not to root that out, but we felt that there could be potential inexperience being in a Test match situation, which is why the advantage of the additional review would probably benefit both teams,” he added.

While the ICC Cricket Committee recommended a ban on the usage of saliva to shine the ball, it didn’t felt sweat would pose a serious health risk.