The Indian Premier League (IPL) umpires have tightened bat checks for players this season. During a recent meeting, they decided to conduct gauge tests on all bats before players bat. The fourth umpire will check the openers’ bats before they take the field. Meanwhile, on-field umpires will inspect the bats of other incoming players.
This new approach shifts away from the previous method. Earlier, the fourth umpire tested bats in the dressing room a day before matches. This created a loophole for batters to use different bats on match day. The change comes in response to a surge in defaulters this season. Many teams expressed concerns about opponents using bats exceeding the legal size.
Recently, during a match between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, two players failed the gauge test. Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje found their bats did not meet the required dimensions. According to the rules, bats must have specific width, depth, and edge measurements. The guidelines also detail other criteria regarding the materials used.
In addition to bat checks, umpires plan to ease their stance on player celebrations. They faced criticism for penalizing Lucknow Super Giants’ Digvesh Rathi for celebrating with a ‘notebook’ gesture. However, umpires will not check for frontfoot no-balls anymore. They will also refrain from asking captains about withdrawing their appeals on certain run-out situations.