India’s spinners bowled 10 no-balls in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. That is the third-highest count by any spin attack in a single Test since 2021, behind only Afghanistan’s 15 against Bangladesh in Mirpur (2023) and India’s own 14 against England in Chennai (2021).
India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule addressed the problem at a post-day press conference on August 26. His solution was direct: bring the free-hit rule from white-ball cricket into Tests.
“I am no guardian of the rules but if a free-hit comes, obviously, no-balls will definitely be reduced. No team would want to bowl those no-balls and give that extra ball and give those extra runs.”
Sairaj Bahutule, post-match press conference, August 26, 2026
The comment was partly tongue-in-cheek. But the numbers behind it are not.
Ravindra Jadeja has bowled 88 no-balls in Tests since 2021. That is more than double the next spinner on the list: Pakistan’s Noman Ali with 40. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Embuldeniya sits third with 33. Jadeja’s overstepping is not an occasional lapse. It is a pattern that India’s coaching staff has been unable to fix across multiple series and conditions.
Bahutule named the bowlers he is working with specifically.
“A lot of work has been put in with (Ravindra) Jadeja, with Saransh (Jain), about where the take-off point is. But sometimes, the effort they put in for that particular delivery is a bit more and they tend to overstep. I am sure they will rectify it and get better.”
Sairaj Bahutule, post-match press conference, August 26, 2026
| Spinner | No-Balls in Tests (since 2021) |
|---|---|
| Ravindra Jadeja (India) | 88 |
| Noman Ali (Pakistan) | 40 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya (Sri Lanka) | 33 |
The coaching response has been hands-on. Bahutule said reminders are given during net sessions, with coaches sometimes standing as umpires to simulate match conditions. The take-off point is discussed regularly with every spinner in the squad. Despite all of that, the problem persisted in Colombo, where Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain were part of a spin attack that could not stay behind the line.
Bahutule did not hide behind excuses, but he did explain the mechanics.
“When the bowler is putting in that effort and gets a wicket in situations where wickets are not coming, he has a tendency to push himself, but that is not an excuse.”
Sairaj Bahutule, post-match press conference, August 26, 2026
Free Hit in Test Cricket: Would It Actually Work?
The free-hit rule was introduced in T20 internationals in 2007 and extended to all front-foot no-balls in ODIs in 2015. Its impact on bowler discipline in limited-overs cricket has been measurable. Bowlers adjusted because the cost of overstepping became too high: one run, one extra delivery, and no chance of a wicket on that ball.
In Test cricket, a no-ball costs one run. Nothing else changes. The batsman can still be dismissed off the next delivery. The bowler faces no strategic penalty beyond a single extra run on the scoreboard.
A strong take from Sairaj Bahutule on the impact of no-balls in Test cricket cricket! 👀🏏
Do you agree with his take? 🤔#Cricket #SairajBahutule #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/1SIBTX0LsA
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) August 28, 2026
Bahutule is not the first to raise this idea. Dale Steyn proposed free hits in Tests in 2022, arguing they would protect tailenders from intimidatory bowling on no-balls. The ICC’s 2026 Annual General Meeting discussed eight proposals for cricket’s future, including World Test Championship expansion and a two-tier Test system. None of them involved free hits or no-ball rule changes.
The opposition is consistent. Test cricket is built on the principle that every ball is contested equally. A free hit introduces a one-delivery exception that critics argue distorts the contest between bat and ball. It would also disproportionately punish bowlers during long spells, where minor overstepping is more likely as fatigue builds.
But the counter-argument is equally simple. If the current penalty does not deter the behaviour, the penalty is too small.
Insider Read
A spinner’s no-ball is mechanically different from a fast bowler’s. Pacers overstep because their run-up rhythm drifts over a spell, something a bowling coach can fix by adjusting the mark. Spinners overstep because the front foot is the loading point for everything: revs, dip, bounce. When a spinner pushes for an effort ball, the delivery that is meant to break a partnership or find an edge, the body leans forward and the front foot creeps past the crease by centimetres. That shift is not a rhythm problem. It is a consequence of trying harder.
This is why Jadeja’s count sits at 88 and keeps climbing. On a Day 4 pitch with a set batsman blocking, every spinner in the world loads harder on the effort ball. Take-off markers work in nets. They disappear in match situations because the intensity changes ball to ball. A Test no-ball costs one run. The advantage a spinner gains from pushing forward, getting closer to the batsman, extracting more from the surface, is worth far more than one run. The economics of overstepping in Test cricket reward it.
The second Test in Colombo proved both sides of this equation. India’s spinners took wickets and bowled no-balls. Suthar finished with six wickets across the match. Jadeja took three in the second innings alone. Sri Lanka still survived, with Sonal Dinusha’s unbeaten 133 off 264 balls earning an epic draw after India enforced the follow-on from a first-innings total of 503/9 declared.
India leads the series 1-0 after winning the first Test by 165 runs. The no-balls did not cost them this match. But 10 illegal deliveries from a spin attack in a single Test is a rate that cannot continue without consequence, whether the ICC introduces free hits or not.
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