MUMBAI: The BCCI’s decision to carry out on-field inspections of bats has become a major talking point. The initiative commenced on Sunday with checks during the RR vs RCB and DC vs MI matches. Pictures of MI skipper Hardik Pandya’s bat undergoing a check went viral.
However, on Tuesday, KKR players Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje became the first to fail the gauge test. Reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid found Narine’s bat oversized before their chase against PBKS. A video shows Narine with Angkrish Raghuvanshi near the dugout during inspection, where Raghuvanshi’s bat passed through the gauge but Narine’s didn’t.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Forced to change his bat, a distracted Narine was dismissed for five runs by Marco Jansen. Similarly, debutant Nortje’s bat too failed the gauge test. However, he remained at the non-striker’s end and didn’t take strike. SRH head coach Daniel Vettori downplayed the situation on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium, noting regular bat compliance checks occur in dressing rooms.
“I wish they’d checked the bats when I was playing,” he joked. “The umpires go through the dressing rooms a lot of the time, so guys know that their bats are compliant. It’ll reset anyone trying to have a bigger bat, but it’s pretty easy to get your bat through that cage.
” He acknowledged bat evolution as natural progression, citing manufacturers’ ability to create larger yet lightweight bats. Will bat sizes be reduced in the future to give bowlers more of a chance in the game? “I mean, everyone seems to enjoy sixes and fours.
I don’t think we’re going to get a reduction in bat size and it doesn’t really worry me,” Vettori stated. However, Paras Anand, CEO of Meerut-based Sanspareils Greenlands (SG), a wellknown bat manufacturer, feels that the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodians of the laws of the game, and the ICC must look at other areas to restore balance.
“Modern-day players practise hitting sixes. Cricket is not what it was 15 years ago. There are other ways of achieving balance between bat and ball, like churning out sporting pitches, using a ball that swings a bit more, or increasing the size of the boundaries. A 1 mm or 2 mm increase in the size of the bats won’t make a difference,” Anand told TOI.
Current IPL rules state: “The blade of the bat must not exceed the following dimensions: width 4.25 in or 10.8 cm, depth 2.64 in or 6.7 cm, edge 1.56 in or 4 cm. Moreover, it must be able to pass through a bat gauge.”
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