Check out the bat size rules in IPL 2025
Shimron Hetmyer of the Rajasthan Royals and Phil Salt of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru were scrutinized by the umpire for their bat, not their shot, in a rare event during the IPL 2025 match between the two teams at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Shortly after opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed, the first check, with Shimron Hetmyer, occurred at the end of the 16th over of Rajasthan’s innings. The on-field umpire stopped the action to check the approaching batter’s gear as Hetmyer stepped out to bat at No. 5, joining Dhruv Jurel in the middle.
IPL 2025 bat rules, size, length, width, weight, edge, handle and toe protection dimensions details explained
Fans were momentarily drawn to the umpire’s use of a conventional bat gauge to confirm that Hetmyer’s bat complied with official IPL regulations.
Law 5.7 of the IPL playing conditions, which mandates that bats precisely follow certain size requirements, was used to conduct this check. According to the regulations of IPL, a bat’s overall length, including the handle, cannot be greater than 38 inches (96.52 cm).
While the weight can vary, the height, width (bat face), depth (middle of blade) and width of the edge has to be within specified limits.
The maximum width of the blade is 4.25 inches (10.8 cm), the maximum depth is 2.64 inches (6.7 cm), and the maximum edge length is 1.56 inches (4.0 cm). Furthermore, the bat’s handle cannot make up more than 52% of its total length. Any toe protection must not be thicker than 0.12 inches (0.3 cm) and covering materials must not be larger than 0.04 inches (0.1 cm). Additionally, the bat ought to be able to pass through the approved bat gauge without any problems.
Game immediately resumed when Hetmyer’s bat easily cleared the check. It’s interesting to note that RCB opener Phil Salt had a similar examination before to the start of his innings, suggesting that the umpire’s actions were probably a part of a predetermined bat verification process.
A noncompliance would have simply resulted in the player switching bats, even though these inspections are standard and entail no direct penalty under IPL regulations. But violations can have more dire repercussions. For example, in the 2023 English County Championship, Essex lost 12 points after Feroze Khushi’s enormous bat was found in the middle of an inning. In the end, that consequence prevented Essex from finishing higher in the rankings.