Riyan Parag, who plays for both Star India and Rajasthan Royals, just found himself in a bit of a pickle during a game. He was asked by the umpires to test his bat with a gauge, which has sure left some folks scratching their heads and others pretty peeved, especially Rahul Dravid, who looked less than pleased during the whole ordeal this Wednesday.
So, here’s the deal: Riyan was stepping up to the plate after his captain, Sanju Samson, had to leave the game due to an injury. Just as he was getting ready to go, the umpires pulled him aside for one of those regular tests to make sure his bat was the right size as per the new rules that the BCCI rolled out for IPL 2025.
When the umpire checked Riyan’s bat with the gauge, it turned out it didn’t quite pass the test. This meant that Riyan had to grab a new bat before he could start his innings. Naturally, he wasn’t thrilled about this and could be seen trying to talk things over with the umpires, possibly saying, “Hey, you already checked my bat back in the dressing room. What’s the deal here?”
The umpires are doing their job and #RiyanParag’s bat is under scrutiny! 🧐
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 16, 2025
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Throughout this commotion, cameras caught Dravid, who was in the dugout looking pretty blank and unimpressed with what was going down. He managed to keep his cool on camera but it was clear he wasn’t happy about the situation either.
As the discussion continued, former England spinner Graeme Swann mentioned in the commentary that Riyan “just about passed the batometer.” He noted that there were some issues at first but it eventually felt like it squeezed through all right. Another commentator chimed in, pointing out that Riyan seemed to stick with the same bat he had originally.
This isn’t the first time a player had to switch bats, either. Just the other day, Sunil Narine from Kolkata Knight Riders and Anrich Nortje faced the same issue when their bats didn’t make the cut during a match against Punjab Kings. It’s clearly a new trend popping up this season, catching players off guard and leaving a few frustrated.
