During the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) chase against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday, Anrich Nortje was forced to switch his bat after coming in as the No. 11. This was due to his initial bat not passing the gauge test administered by the on-field umpires, as reported by TV commentators.
In addition, there is a video circulating on social media that appears to show Sunil Narine’s bat failing the gauge test prior to the chase.
During the 16th over of KKR’s innings, the Nortje incident occurred. At that moment, Rahmanullah Gurbaz had to leave the field and retrieve spare bats for Nortje. The substitute bat was deemed fit for use, but unfortunately for Nortje, he didn’t get a chance to use it. This was due to the quick dismissal of Andre Russell, resulting in PBKS achieving the lowest successful defence in IPL history.
Related Post
Previously, bat checks were conducted in the dressing room. However, during both the RR vs RCB and DC vs MI matches on Sunday, the checks took place on the field. These checks are in accordance with the IPL playing conditions which state that the bat face should not exceed 10.8cm in width, the blade should not be thicker than 6.7cm, and the edge of the bat cannot exceed 4.0cm in width. Additionally, according to these conditions, the length of the bat must not exceed 96.52cm.
Nortje finally made an eagerly anticipated comeback from the back injury he sustained during SA20 in his first match of IPL 2025. His performance with the ball resulted in figures of 1 for 23 from three overs.
During their game against RCB on Tuesday, RR batter Nitish Rana had his bat checked. He stated that he had no issue with the process.
Prior to the RR game against DC in Delhi, it was expressed that time is limited in T20s. If the umpires deem it necessary to inspect bats, including my own, then it is within their authority to do so. In fact, during that particular match, a significant number of players had their bats examined. This is a justifiable procedure and we have no authority over it as the sponsored company is responsible for manufacturing the bats. Regardless of this, if the umpires wish to verify them for their assurance, we have no objections.
