Sunil Narine's bat fails gauge test during IPL 2025

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Sunil Narine landed in the middle of a controversy after his bat failed the gauge test during their IPL 2025 game against Punjab Kings.

KKR faced the PBKS at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium a day earlier, where they were defeated in a low-scoring thriller.

After bowling out PBKS for a modest 111-run total, KKR were bundled out for 95, losing the 31st game of the IPL 2025 by 16 runs.

During their batting, reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid was seen checking bats near the boundary line, just before players start their innings.

Sunil Narine, opening the innings alongside Angkrish Raghuvanshi, was stopped as his bat failed to pass through the ICC-mandated bat gauge, due to excessive thickness.

He then picked a new bat from a set of replacement bats and was allowed to go out to bat.

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However, Sunil Narine found it hard to get going and departed after scoring just five runs off four balls.

Apart from Narine, KKR’s last-man Anrich Nortje was also stopped by on-field umpires Mohit Krishnadas and Saidharshan Kumar.

While one of the replacement bats for Nortje cleared the test, he could not get a chance to use it as Andre Russell was bowled on the very next delivery, ending KKR’s innings at 95 in 15.1 overs.

According to IPL 2025 equipment regulations, a bat must adhere to strict dimensions: a maximum width of 10.79 cm, blade thickness of up to 6.7 cm, edge thickness not exceeding 4 cm, and total length no more than 96.4 cm.