[WATCH] Against PBKS, KKR players Narine, Russell, and Nortje fail bat gauge tests

Sunil Narine was one of three Kolkata Knight Riders players who failed the umpires’ required bat gauge test during their most recent match against the Punjab Kings on Tuesday, April 15 at the Mullanpur Cricket Stadium. The corresponding batters were designed to swap out their primary bats for backups.

For those who are unfamiliar, the triangle-shaped plastic gauge is the size of a real bat. A legal willow has the following dimensions: depth: 2.68 inches, width: 4.33 inches, and edges: 1.61 inches. The bat’s bulge must be within 0.20 inches on the lower portion of the non-hitting side.

The first hitter from KKR to participate was Sunil Narine.

Saiyed Khalid, the reserve umpire, examined his bat slightly outside the boundary line before the second innings began because he was beginning the innings during KKR’s run-chase. However, their arrival with their bats in the middle before the fifth ball of the 11th over and the first delivery of the 16th over, respectively, coincided with the bat-check incident involving Russell and later Anrich Nortje.

Glad Narine is getting pulled up at least while batting. pic.twitter.com/GziclyTc1x

— Sunil (@Hitting_Middle) April 16, 2025

Before the 2025 Indian Premier League, the appointed officials would test bats on the eve of a certain match instead of on matchdays. Nevertheless, there was a very noticeable flaw in this approach. Many batters would arrive at the game with bats that were different from the ones they had sent in for testing the day before.

Speaking about the Mullanpur match, KKR lost to the hosts by a disheartening 16 runs. The team led by Ajinkya Rahane was all-out for a pitiful score of 95 after facing 15.1 overs, having already bundled out the opposition for 111 in 15.3 overs. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who entered as an Impact Player, led the scoring with 37 off 28. Later in the evening, KKR’s combined bowling effort was crucial in holding PBKS to 111.