In a break from the past, on-field umpires in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season have begun randomly measuring bat sizes to encourage fair play and discourage players from gaining any improper advantage. Even though bat size checking was always the practice in the past, it was done in the dressing room prior to matches. This season, however, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given permission to match officials to inspect any bat deemed necessary during live matches, as a response to the increasing trend of power-hitting hard-hitting.
Among the former BCCI umpires who have officiated over 100 IPL and some international matches was taken aback by the new procedure. “The umpires carry a bat gauge in the shape of a house. Any bat that would go through the gauge is alright. Earlier, such checks used to be made at the dressing room prior to the start of the innings, where the batsmen would surrender their bats for checking,” said the umpire, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The retired bureaucrat posed an important question: “Did a player ever have one bat brought out for checking while playing with another? If that has been done, then this new practice is certainly to be welcomed.” Players use more than one bat, and even though weights might vary, measurements—height, width (bat face), depth (middle of the blade), and thickness of the edge—must comply with the ICC norms.
These regulations define that the bat’s face width cannot be over 4.25 inches (10.79 cm) and the middle of the bat thickness cannot exceed 2.64 inches (6.7 cm). Additionally, the thickest edge is not allowed to be over 1.56 inches (4 cm) and the total bat height cannot be over 38 inches (96.4 cm) from the top of the handle to the base.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals’ Shimron Hetmyer’s bats, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Phil Salt, and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya were subjected to tests on the field, all of whom passed the tests.
The BCCI has kept mum over any potential infringement of bat size that might have inspired these random inspections. It is commonly believed, though, that even minute differences in the thickness of a bat can substantially alter performance, particularly in an era where mis-hits are likely to sail over the boundary.
As of Monday’s game between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, a record 525 sixes have already been hit in the ongoing season. Notably, West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran has added 31 of these sixes, which is further evidence of the power-hitting trend that has ushered in increased scrutiny over bat specifications.
