Making the cricket bat less brutal: A missed IPL advertising opportunity

In the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, batters lofted 622 balls over the boundary for six. By 2018, the number had jumped to 872. The 2022 edition witnessed 1,062 sixes, 2023 saw 1,124 maximums, and by 2024, the tally had reached 1,260. This year, the IPL looks to be on-course to exceed last year’s count. With batters getting more and more aggressive, grounds becoming smaller, and curators creating flat unforgiving wickets, bowlers have been under severe attack — and stress.

 

So is the culprit the bat or the batsman? The IPL officials perhaps believe that it is the bat that is giving the batsmen an unfair edge. The dimensions of a legal bat — depth 2.68 inches, width 4.33 inches, and edges 1.61 inches — are, it is believed, being modified to create a “bat bulge” for the batter’s benefit, sweetening the so-called "sweet spot" without adding more than the legal weight.

 

Ever since April 13, match officials have begun using a gauge to measure bats, with an eye on maintaining the balance between bat and ball and ensuring that batters do not gain an undue advantage by using bigger or more creatively strengthened bats. Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje of KKR were the first to be hauled up in Mullanpur while playing against the Punjab Kings.

 

To be fair, IPL officials have been known to check bat dimensions in previous seasons too. But the process involved the fourth umpire measuring the bat dimensions the day before the match, with players chosen randomly. It did not matter in such inspections if the player would be part of the team on match day or not. And not all bats of every player were checked, which meant that a batter could have one bat tested and walk in with another on match day. All that has now changed.

 

Bat controversies are not new to cricket. Some unusual bats have been used (or misused) in the past. Thomas White’s Monster Bat in a game between Chertsey and Hambleton in 1771 stands out because the bat seemingly covered the entire stump, making it difficult for the bowlers even to see where the ball was going.

 

In 1979 at Perth, Australian pacer Dennis Lillee batted with an aluminium bat known as “The ComBat” and got the English captain Mike Brearly quite worked up — until Aussie skipper Greg Chappell stepped in and took the offensive bat away! Ricky Ponting’s Willow bat had a thin strip of carbon graphite attached to the back during the 2006 England tour. The Willow was adjudged illegal and banned alongside two other Kookaburra bats — the Genesis Hurricane and the Beast, which also featured brightly coloured graphite strips.

 

Matthew Hayden courted controversy in 2010 with his Mongoose bat. The new design, known as the MMi3, featured an extended hitting surface, so no matter where the ball landed, it was bound to reach the stands, given that it had sufficient power (Kapil Dev too, by the way, used the Mongoose in the 1983 World Cup).

 

Andre Russell played the Big Bash League in 2016 with a shining black willow featuring a pink grip and graphic design. The bat used by Andre apparently left black marks on the match ball and was disallowed. Calypso King Chris Gayle experimented with a golden Spartan bat in 2018 but gave it up because of its excessive weight, which made bouncers difficult to hit.

 

But Chris Gayle is a good example of how batting prowess matters far more than the bat being used. In 2011, Gayle hit 44 sixes in the IPL. In 2012, he maxed 59, and in 2013 he lofted 51 fliers. And he wasn’t using the golden Spartan or any other modified bat for any unfair advantage.

 

The “fair bat” controversy, methinks, is an advertising aperture that the IPL monetisation machine has unusually missed out on. Much like the CEAT Strategic Time Out, the Bat Gauge Test can be made into a sponsored event. Today, there are already Aramco who sponsor the Purple cap and Orange cap, My11Circle has the Ultimate Fantasy Player of the Match, Angelone awards Super 6 of the Match, Rupay sponsors On-The-Go 4s of the Match, Punch.ev has put out the Electric Striker of the Match, Visit Saudi awards Beyond the Boundary Longest Six, and there are the Upstox Most Valuable Player and Herbalife Active Best Catch of the Season trophies too. Even the Fair Play Award had Paytm as a sponsor not far back. The Bat Gauge Test can become a pre-match ceremony too, with catcalls, whistles, hoots and boos for effect. What say?

 The writer is chairman of Rediffusion