Sunil Gavaskar has a solution to Team India's glaring no-ball woes, says 'How about a fine which gets doubled'

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has firmly rejected a lighthearted proposal by India’s spin-bowling coach, Sairaj Bahutule, to penalize red-ball no-balls with free hits. The suggestion came after Indian bowlers struggled with overstepping in the second Test against Sri Lanka, where they conceded 13 no-balls—11 of which were delivered by spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Saransh Jain. Jadeja’s discipline at the crease was already under scrutiny after he gave away four extra deliveries in the series opener at Galle.

Gavaskar has an interesting solution to India's no-ball issue

Writing in his Mid-Day column, the legendary opening batter argued that implementing free hits would disproportionately tilt Test cricket toward batters, who already benefit from short boundaries and limits on short-pitched bowling. Rather than tweaking the rules of the game to favor run-scoring, Gavaskar proposed an internal team fix: imposing escalating financial fines on offending bowlers for repeat infractions, while holding the bowling coach accountable by docked half the fine amount.

“The India team’s spinning coach jokingly said that giving a free hit after a no-ball might help in curbing the offence. Please, let us not make run-scoring easier in Tests for the batters with this penalty," Gavaskar said.

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The former Indian opener emphasised that overstepping is inexcusable for modern players, given the advanced training tools and technology at their disposal, a flaw already heavily penalized in limited-overs formats through the free-hit rule. To curb these avoidable errors, Gavaskar suggested redirecting team-imposed fines into a shared pool to cover the players' end-of-tour dinner, with squad members voting on penalties for other on-field oversights like failing to back up throws.

'How about a fine which gets doubled for every further transgression'

Calling for immediate action from team management, Gavaskar highlighted that preventing no-balls, much like a batter taking guard, is one of the rare elements of cricket fully within a player's control. He warned that failing to address this discipline issue urgently risks allowing minor lapses to cost teams critical match outcomes.

"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. 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," he added.

“This has to be looked at urgently because it can change the colour of the game," Gavaskar cocluded.

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Following the conclusion of their Test fixtures, the Indian squad is set to shift focus to the shortest format for a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. In a rare arrangement, the entire series will be staged at a single venue, Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, with fixtures scheduled for September 13, 15, and 17.

India will aim for a commanding performance against the visiting side, leaning on a high-profile lineup expected to feature key players like Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and young talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The host nation will be eager to assert its dominance throughout the brief home series and keep up their winning momentum.