Umpire Checks Hardik's Bat During IPL Clash Between MI And DC - Here's Why

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 double-header on Sunday saw the start of an interesting procedure, as umpires began checking the bat size of players. In the contest between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI), the on-field umpire used a device to measure the width of MI captain Hardik Pandya's bat. Fortunately for Pandya, his bat was within the permitted dimensions of 4.25 inches. Earlier in the day, during the clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the bats of Phil Salt and Shimron Hetmyer had been changed.

The umpire used a gauge and ran it through the entire length of Pandya's bat in order to make sure it did not exceed the dimensions at any point.

As per the rules of the IPL, no bat should cross 4.25 inches or 10.8 centimetres in width.

"The blade of the bat shall not exceed the following dimensions: Width: 4.25in / 10.8 cm, Depth: 2.64in / 6.7 cm, Edges: 1.56in / 4.0cm. Furthermore, it should also be able to pass through a bat gauge," as per the playing conditions of IPL 2025.