Legendary Sunil Gavaskar said bowlers and bowling coaches should be fined for front-foot no-balls after the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. India bowled a total of 13 no-balls in the second Test match against the hosts at Colombo.

Out of these 13 no-balls, 11 were bowled by veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Saransh Jain. In fact, Jain’s first delivery in the first innings was a no-ball.

Furthermore, Jadeja had dismissed Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva off a no-ball in the opening Test match at Galle.

It is often said that a spinner bowling a no-ball is a criminal offence. Jadeja has had a perennial issue of overstepping as his right foot mostly lands over the crease.

Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for 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.”

He added, “Instead, how about a fine which gets doubled for every further transgression plus half the amount of fine for the bowling coach too. 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 be also a fun activity and bond the team even more.”

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka was able to show all the resistance on the final day of the second Test match. Sonal Dinusha scored another impressive knock of 133 and played a key role in saving the Test match.