Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar called for fines to be imposed on the bowler and the bowling coach for every no-ball bowled after Team India’s series win over Sri Lanka. Despite pulling off a 1-0 series win, the Indian bowlers, including the spinners, struggled with overstepping issues.

In just the second Test, the visitors sent down 13 no-balls, with the spin duo of Saransh Jain and Ravindra Jadeja bowling 11 across the two innings. Jadeja, who has often struggled with front-foot no-balls throughout his stellar career, also sent down four no-balls in the first Test at Galle.

Addressing the issue during the second Test, India’s bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule called for free-hits even in red-ball cricket.

However, Gavaskar disagreed with that thought and felt fines were the way forward, saying in his column for the Mid-Day:

“The India team spinning coach jokingly said that giving a free hit after a no-ball might help in curbing the offense. Please, let’s not make run-scoring easier in Test cricket for the batters with this penalty. As it is, with the restriction on bouncers to two in an over and the boundaries being brought in, run making has become a little simpler. Instead, how about a fine which gets doubled for every further transgression, plus half the amount of the fine for the bowling coach too.”

He added:

“The fines collected can be used for the final team dinner before the boys disperse. There could be other fines too, for example, not backing up for a throw or something else not done on the field, which the whole team can vote on whether to impose or not. This can also be a fun activity and bond the team even more.”

Overall, the Indian bowlers bowled an unacceptable 20 no-balls across the four innings in the two Tests in Sri Lanka.

“There should be no excuses for overstepping the bowling crease” – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar believes bowling no-balls is inexcusable in the modern day, given the facilities and equipment available. The white-ball formats have penalized bowling no-balls with free hits for years as a move to penalize the bowlers.

“This has to be looked at urgently because it can change the colour of the game. There are very few aspects of the game that are totally in the players’ control, and a batter taking guard and a bowler not bowling a no-ball are two such aspects. Players, when they come for interviews, talk about doing things that are in their control. Today, with tape measure available to mark the run-up, there should be no excuses for overstepping the bowling crease,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

Sri Lanka were themselves guilty of bowling no-balls across three innings in the Test series against India.