Overview
- Ravindra Jadeja has bowled 88 no‑balls in Test cricket since 2021 and added four more in the Colombo Test on Wednesday, underscoring a long‑running discipline issue.
- India’s spinners delivered 10 no‑balls in the second Test in Colombo, the highest spin‑attack total in a Test since 2021, and Jadeja bowled eight no‑balls across the two Tests in the Sri Lanka series so far.
- Spin coach Sairaj Bahutule said the staff are using match‑like net monitoring with coaches acting as umpires and giving bowlers specific reminders about their take‑off points to correct the technical fault.
- Bahutule suggested, half in jest, importing the white‑ball free‑hit penalty for no‑balls into Test cricket; a free‑hit gives the batter a single delivery where they cannot be out in common ways, making a no‑ball far costlier.
- The issue has clear match consequences — one no‑ball in the first Test let Dhananjaya de Silva survive — and it sits alongside Jadeja’s 350th Test wicket, leaving selectors and officials to weigh whether stricter deterrents or extra coaching are needed.