The IPL 2025 is the biggest cricket league at the international level and only keeps getting bigger and better by the year. Ahead of this season too, the tournament had grabbed headlines for multiple reasons.
Several new rules and regulations were introduced even before the start of the league; compliances were set in place to ensure no ambiguity and issues crop up during the actual games.
Out of the many checks stated in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League, on-field umpires have been directed to check the size of the bats being used by players during the games. The BCCI has amped up its vigilance level on the size of the bats and instructed on-field umpires to carry out regular checks during the matches in this season of the premier T20 league.
The practice of assessing bat sizes is definitely not new. Previously, players would submit their bats for inspection prior to a match inside the dressing room. Those checks were conducted away from the public view. But now it has changed. The umpires have been directed to use the ‘home-shaped bat gauge’ during the game time itself. Every batter must pass the gauge test before heading to the field to bat.
As per the official rule specifications, the blade of the bat must have a width of 4.25 cm, depth of 6.7 cm and the edge width must be 4 cm. This dimension must be able to pass the gauge test successfully.
During the initial games of April, several batters-including Hardik Pandya, Phil Salt, and Shimron Hetmyer had their bats checked by the umpires during a live game. None of the bats exceeded the dimensions outlined as per the rule book, though there have been some instances of players using oversized bats.
The bat check process has been a norm before every innings, though the question that arose soon after was that if any player submitted one particular bat for inspection but used a different one on the field during the game.
To avoid this advantage and have stricter enforcements, the new protocol has been put in place. Players often carry multiple bats and so even if the weight may vary, the other dimensions must be within the ICC’s prescribed limits.
In today’s power-hitting era of T20 cricket, concerns about the bat increasingly overshadowing the ball are growing louder, and these checks aim to uphold the true spirit of the game. In a move to support the bowlers, the BCCI has lifted the ban on the use of saliva to assist with reverse swing, which was prohibited during the pandemic period. Additionally, to counter the dew factor, the BCCI has approved the use of a second ball during the second innings of IPL 2025 matches.
The post IPL 2025: Random Bat-Checking Inspection Introduced by BCCI during Live Matches appeared first on Sportzcraazy.
from Cricket News & Updates | Today Cricket Rankings | Latest Match Schedule https://ift.tt/OwKRNkt
via IFTTT
0 Comments