IPL umpires tighten bat checks after spike in defaulters

During a weekly review meeting of IPL umpires held last week, it was decided that bats of all batters will undergo a gauge test before they begin their innings. The bats of the openers will be tested by the fourth umpire before they take the field, while the bats of other incoming batters will be checked by the on-field umpires.

This is a significant change from the earlier practice, which involved the fourth umpire testing the bats of players inside the dressing room a day before the match. There was a loophole that could be exploited with such a check, allowing batters to bring in a different bat on match day while having the other bats checked in the gauge test.

The decision mid-way through the tournament was triggered due to a sudden surge in the number of defaulters this season. It is understood that there was also rampant scepticism across teams that some of the opponent batters were using bats bigger than mandated, especially at the meat of the blade.

On Tuesday, during the clash between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mullanpur, two days after the on-field gauge-test was put in to practice, the bats of Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje were found to have failed the gauge-test.

As per the existing law, the blade of the bat shall not exceed the following dimensions: width 4.25 inches, depth 2.64 inches and edges 1.56 inches. Furthermore, it should be able to pass through the bat gauge. There are other instructions as well, which include:

- Except for bats of size 6 and less, the overall handle shall not exceed 52 percent 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

The teams were informed about the umpire's decision to now check bats before the batters walk in to bat, and no team has objected to it.

Meanwhile, the umpires have also been asked to go a bit more lenient on player-celebration following the flak they received for penalising Lucknow Super Giants' Digvesh Rathi twice this season for his 'notebook' celebration.

The role on other fronts, though, have been curbed in recent years. After not having to check for frontfoot no-ball, the umpires have even been instructed not to check with the captains if they would want to withdraw their appeal over a run-out at the non-striker's end or for obstructing the field. Earlier, umpires were encouraged to ask captains if they would want to withdraw their appeal in such instances.