IPL 2025: Umpires tighten bat checks after increase in defaulters

The fact that on-field umpires are assessing the bat sizes of numerous hitters as they make their way out to the middle has drawn the attention of cricket fans during the current Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The decision was made last week at

The IPL umpires’ weekly review meeting to conduct a gauge test on each player’s bat before to the start of their innings.

Before the openers take the field, the fourth umpire will test their bats, and the on-field umpires will inspect the bats of the next batters. Prior to a game, the fourth umpire would test players’ bats inside the dressing room. This is a significant departure from the previous norm.

The abrupt rise in defaulters has led to this decision being made in the middle of the season. The authorities were informed by certain teams that opposing hitters were using bats larger than allowed, particularly at the meat of the blade.

The bats of Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje failed the gauge-test on Tuesday, April 15, during the low-scoring thriller between the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mullanpur, two days after the on-field gauge-test was implemented.

The bat’s blade cannot be wider than 4.25 inches, deeper than 2.64 inches, or wider than 1.56 inches, as required by current law. It must also be able to flow via the bat gauge.

There other instructions are:

• Except for bats of size 6 and less, the overall handle shall not exceed 52 per cent of the overall length of the bat
• The material for covering the blade shall not exceed 0.1 cm in thickness
• The maximum permitted thickness of the protected material placed on the toe of the blade is 0.3 cm

Before the batters walk out to the middle, they will need to have their bats checked, teams have been told. To date, no team has objected to this adjustment.

Additionally, umpires have been urged to exercise a little more tact when disciplining athletes for celebrating. This follows the backlash following Digvesh Rathi, a leg-spinner for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), being penalised twice throughout the competition.

In fact, the umpires have been told not to ask the captains if they would like to revoke their appeal for non-striker end run-outs and field obstruction. Previously, umpires were encouraged to enquire with captains about their desire to withdraw their appeal in these circumstances.

With the competition for the top four becoming hotter every week, the IPL 2025 is almost halfway through. Right now, the top four teams are the Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings. Nevertheless, mid-table teams are closing the gap on them, and bottom-place teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have shown signs of recovery.