Srinagar: IPL 2025 has seen umpires making random checks on batters to check bat gauge/thickness and in the latest Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje bats failed the gauge test during their IPL clash against Punjab Kings on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, where Punjab Kings successfully defended a modest 111-run total, the lowest total ever defended in IPL history, to pull off a remarkable win.
As KKR prepared to chase 112, reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid was seen checking bats near the boundary line, just before the start of the innings.
Sunil Narine, opening the innings alongside young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, was stopped briefly as his bat failed to pass through the ICC-mandated bat gauge, due to excessive thickness. In contrast, Raghuvanshi’s bat was cleared without any issues.
Narine, despite the bat drama, came out to open the innings but couldn’t make an impact. He managed just 5 runs off 4 balls before being dismissed early in the chase.
Later, in the 16th over, with KKR nine wickets down and chasing a fading target, last-man Anrich Nortje walked in, only to be stopped by on-field umpires Mohit Krishnadas and Saidharshan Kumar.
TV commentators revealed that Nortje’s bat, too, had failed the compliance check. Play was temporarily halted as KKR’s substitute player Rahmanullah Gurbaz sprinted in with a set of replacement bats.
One of them passed the gauge test, but Nortje didn’t even get to use it. On the very next ball, Andre Russell was bowled, ending KKR’s innings at 95 in 15.1 overs.
Earlier three days ago, during Rajasthan Royals’ home game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Shimron Hetmyer and Phil Salt were stopped abruptly and had their bats checked. Both batters put their bats through the gauge, and only once it passed through cleanly were they allowed to carry on. With several 200-plus scores being posed already, the board decided to make the bat gauge mandatory to ensure fair play is maintained.
“Nobody should feel that somebody’s got an undue advantage. The BCCI and IPL have always taken all initiatives in this direction so that the fairness of the game is maintained. We have used technology to the maximum to make sure that all decisions can be reviewed so that the games don’t get unfairly affected. The idea behind this initiative is to ensure that the spirit of the game is maintained,” IPL Chairmain Arun Dhumal was quoted by The Indian Express.
According to IPL equipment regulations, a bat must adhere to strict dimensions: a maximum width of 10.79 cm, blade thickness of up to 6.7 cm, edge thickness not exceeding 4 cm, and total length no more than 96.4 cm.