IPL 2025: Sunil Narine, and Anrich Nortje’s bats fail the gauge test during KKR’s match vs Punjab Kings

During the broadcast of Wednesday’s match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, commentators Simon Doull and Varun Aaron discussed the developments on air. “We have just seen, if you’re still with us, the checking of the bats. It was two blokes last night in the Kolkata game whose bats were disqualified. They were sent off to get another bat. They were too big. It might surprise you, Varun Aaron, that one of them was Anrich Nortj. Not even a batter and he can’t get a legal bat,” former NZ pacer Doull quipped. Aaron, himself a pacer and lower order batter, replied in jest: “You just need every inch of that bat as a fast bowler to get that ball over the line. Just back yourself max. Whatever you can squeeze out of your bat!”

On Tuesday, during the low-scoring thriller between KKR and Punjab Kings, when Andre Russell came out to bat against Punjab Kings in the 11th over, on-field umpire Saidharshan Kumar administered the gauge test and the bat initially failed to pass through. But once the umpire adjusted the gauge’s angles, the bat passed through and Russell could take guard without any issue.

But Narine’s incident reportedly happened before the start of the KKR chase. Since he is an opener, Narine’s bat was checked beyond the boundary just prior to his batting stint. The fourth umpire Saiyed Khalid was seen checking the bats of Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who were standing beside the boundary. Khalid could be seen in a video, trying the gauge and failing to clear the thickest part of the bat. Narine then says something to him, and the umpire tries again but with similar results. He then passes the gauge through Raghuvanshi’s bat without any issue.

Another clear incident of the bat failing the gauge test happened late on when No 11 Nortje came to bat at the end of the 15th over. After the gauge didn’t go through, there was a significant delay in play and KKR’s substitute player Rahmanullah Gurbaz ran out with the replacement bat that was later deemed legal. But Nortje didn’t face a ball as Russell fell the very next delivery, inside-edging a heave as Punjab Kings pulled off a stunning victory.

Speaking to The Indian Express, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal had earlier said the decision was taken to ensure fairness on the field. “Nobody should feel that somebody’s got an undue advantage,” he said. “The BCCI and IPL have always taken all initiatives in this direction so that fairness of the game is maintained. We have used technology to the maximum to make sure that all decisions can be reviewed so that the games don’t get unfairly affected. The idea behind this initiative is to ensure that the spirit of the game is maintained,” Dhumal said.

Delhi Capitals’s fast bowler Mohit Sharma had a light-hearted take on the bat checks, saying, ”That’s really good, please check those bats. As it is we have been seeing such big sixes. If a bat or two are caught oversized then ban them also.”

Clarification: The original version of this article said Russell’s bat failed the gauge test, but that has been corrected.