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When the Indian cricket team needed only four wins to secure the Test in Colombo and wrap up the two-match series against Sri Lanka with a 2-0 scoreline, the Indian bowlers' approach against the Lankan tail raised a series of questions. No-ball is among the issues that the Indian cricket team needs to resolve as soon as possible; legendary Sunil Gavaskar suggested this in his recent column.
Ravindra Jadeja, the senior-most spinner for India in the line-up against Sri Lanka in Colombo, gave away multiple runs through no-balls. The number of no-balls generated by Since 2021, the senior left-arm spinner has delivered more than 85 no-balls without any sign of improvement. The debutant spinner Saransh Jain also gave away a few extra runs.
Sunil Gavaskar disagrees with the Indian spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule
The spin bowling coach of the team, Sairaj Bahutule, jokingly told the reporters that to restrict the bowlers from no-balls, the time has come to introduce the free-hit rule in Test cricket as well.
Sunil Gavaskar, however, believes it is not a matter of joke players delivering too many no-balls. The former Indian captain, in his column for The Mid-Day, wrote that the bowling coach is equally liable for the no-balls.
Sunil Gavaskar suggests imposing a fine on every no-ball
Instead of the free hit idea in the longest format of the game, the former cricketer came up with the idea to impose a penalty on bowlers and the bowling coach if the team leaks too many runs by landing the foot away from the line.
"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.
"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,” he added.
No-balls have to be looked at urgently: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar noted that no balls could shift the momentum of a match at any time. The issues can be solved, as not bowling no balls is something which can be controlled by the bowler. As there are tools and technologies in the market to examine a bowler's run-up and the entire body movement, overstepping is not an excuse, according to Sunil Gavaskar.
"This (no balls) 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 within their control. Today, with a tape measure available to mark the run-up, there should be no excuses for overstepping the bowling crease," he expressed.
