Following last night’s encounter between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, a clip of Riyan Parag arguing with the umpire has gone viral on social media. The argument between the RR batter and the umpire was a result of Parag failing his bat gauge test. Multiple batters throughout the IPL season have failed the said ‘bat-check’, earlier Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje also had to replace their bats.
But what exactly is the ‘bat gauge test’?
The bat-gauge test has been brought on to restrict the use of oversized bats in the IPL. In the test a triangle plastic tool with restricted dimensions is used to measure the thickest part of the bat.
The legal dimensions of the bat are as follows:
Depth: 2.68 inches
Width: 4.33 inches
Edge Thickness: 1.61 inches
The bulge of the bat, or the non hitting side of the bat should not exceed 0.20 inches. If a bat fails to pass through the triangle plastic tool, the bat is deemed illegal and the player must replace it.
The umpires are allowed to check the dimensions of the bat at any given moment of the match. In the previous IPL seasons, the bat check would be performed a day before the match, but players would often use the loophole and use different bats for the match. Hence, the ‘bat-gauge’ rules have now been implemented on field.