Anrich Nortje was forced to switch bats after he stepped out as the No. 11 during the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pursuit against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday. Nortje failed the bat gauge test conducted by the on-field umpires, as per the TV commentators.
In another twist, a video of Sunil Narine’s bat reportedly failing the gauge test before the commencement of the chase has also been making the rounds on social media.
Nortje Failed Bat Gauge Test along with Sunil Narine In KKR vs PBKS IPL 2025
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The Nortje incident occurred at the beginning of the 16th over of KKR’s innings. The match was suspended as substitute Rahmanullah Gurbaz walked out with spare bats for Nortje.
The replacement bat survived the test, but Nortje never got to use it since Andre Russell was bowled soon after, with PBKS recording the lowest successful defense in IPL history.
Earlier, the bat checks were being conducted within the dressing room but on Sunday, during the Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) match and the Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) match, the checks were being conducted on the field of play.
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As per the regulations, the face of the bat must not be wider than 10.79cm, the blade’s thickness should not be over 6.7cm, and the edge of the bat must not be wider than 4cm. The bat length must not be over 96.4cm.
This was the inaugural match for Nortje in IPL 2025 since he returned from a back injury suffered while playing the SA20. With the ball, he gave return figures of 1 for 23 in his three overs.
Nitish Rana on Nortje Failed Bat Gauged Test
RR batter Nitish Rana on Tuesday, whose bat was tested in their game against RCB, said that he had no issue with the procedure.
“There is lack of time in T20s, and if umpires have time to inspect the bat, I suppose it’s their prerogative to do so – my bat was inspected even,” he added on the night before RR played DC in Delhi.
“In that match, bats of 60-70% batsmen were inspected. It is fair enough, we have no control over that, it is uncontrollable. The bats are manufactured by the company which is sponsoring us. But if umpires wish to inspect it to their satisfaction, we have no issue.”
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