Ravindra Jadeja‘s no-ball problem has become increasingly difficult to ignore, with the India spinner’s latest overstepping taking his tally to a staggering 88 in Tests since 2021.Jadeja bowled three no-balls in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka and added another in the second innings. His tally during the period is now comfortably the highest among spinners, with Pakistan’s Noman Ali a distant second on 40. Lasith Embuldeniya follows with 33, while England’s Jack Leach has 19.Jadeja’s issue has become particularly pronounced since television umpires were given the responsibility of calling no-balls during the England-Pakistan Test series in late 2020. Since that change, only Kagiso Rabada, Ben Stokes and Jasprit Bumrah have bowled more no-balls than Jadeja.The numbers become even more striking when his career is split into two periods. From his Test debut in 2012 until television adjudication was introduced, Jadeja bowled only 18 no-balls. Since then, he has overstepped 89 times.The problem has not been restricted to the ongoing Test. In the first Test against Sri Lanka, Jadeja bowled two no-balls in each innings. One proved particularly costly when a delivery that induced Dhananjaya de Silva to edge towards KL Rahul at slip was called a no-ball, giving the Sri Lankan captain a reprieve.India’s spinners have collectively struggled with their discipline in the series. On Day 4 of the Colombo Test, they bowled five no-balls, taking their match tally to 10. While none of those deliveries resulted in a wicket being lost, the frequency has become a concern.
