Delhi: Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya’s bat was checked upon his arrival at the crease during Match no.. 29 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Delhi Capitals. In the fixture played on Sunday, April 13, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Pandya walked out to bat at number five after the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav. The umpire checked the width of his bat to make sure it was well set under the guidelines of the tournament.
The umpire was seen using a gauge to measure the width of the bat, which was run through the entire length of the Pandya’s bat to make sure it passes through. It was the third such instance of the day where the umpire intervened to check the width of the bat, as the bats of Phil Salt and Shimron Hetmyer were also inspected earlier in the day during the match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Umpire checked Hardik Pandya bat before he came to bat today😭😭
— ` (@Sneha4kohli) April 13, 2025
Unreal Aura🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/tV1Pm0yNGm
Why was the bat checked?
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has set a limit on the dimensions of the bat in the playing conditions of the tournament, which states that the width shouldn’t exceed 4.25 inches or 10.8 centimetres, and for that, the bat will be checked whenever a player opts to change it.
“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,” states the playing conditions of the IPL 2025.
Additionally, the handle must constitute no more than 52% of the bat's overall length.
The strict checking of the bat dimensions comes under the conditions where teams are posting 200-plus totals on a regular basis. Recently, Sunrisers Hyderabad clocked the second-highest successful run chase in the IPL’s history as they surpassed Punjab Kings’ mammoth total of 245 in just 18.3 overs.
With the scores soaring high, the umpires are carefully checking the dimensions of the bat to ensure that the batters are not taking unfair advantage of the playing conditions, which are already tilted in favour of the batters.
