Stasticians note that Jadeja has bowled more than 85 no-balls since 2021. In the 2-Tests against the islanders, he was a repeat offender when it comes to overstepping the line. As India settled for a draw against Sri Lanka in the second Test, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja ‘s indisciplined bowling became the talk of the town. Sunil Gavaskar , a purist of the game, lambasted Jadeja’s conduct on the field, suggesting for the player and even India’s bowling coach to be handed a hefty fine.
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar wants Indian spinners and coaches to be penalised significantly because of their indisciplined bowling.
“The India team spinning coach jokingly said that giving a free hit after a no-ball might help in curbing the offence. Sharing another idea to curb no-balls, Gavaskar said that the management needs to double the fine if an offence is repeated, and maybe even penalise the bowling coach if such instances continue. It wasn’t just Jadeja who overstepped repeatedly. Debutant spinner Saransh Jain also delivered multiple no-balls against the Lankans in the second Test. India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule joked that maybe Test cricket needs to have free-hits too, but the comment left Gavaskar fuming. Please, let’s not make scoring runs in Test cricket easier for 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,” he added. “Instead, how about a fine which gets doubled for every further transgression, plus half the amount of the fine for the bowling coach, too.
The fines collected can be used for the final team dinner before the boys disperse,” wrote Gavaskar.
