MS Dhoni will have to change his bat to adhere to MCC guidelines
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Big-hitters like MS Dhoni and David Warner will have to change their respective bats from October 1st to comply with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) guidelines, according to which the thickness of the edges of their bats will now be limited to 40mm. Some batsmen have already made the change.
The Marylebone Cricket Club guidelines were issued in March this year to ensure a much more even contest between the bat and ball. According to the specifications of the guidelines, the bats will also be limited to 108mm in width and 67mm in depth, apart from the 40mm edges.
The rule is set to come into play from October 1 and now with that deadline approaching, some of the best batsmen in the world will have to make changes to their willow. This list includes the likes of MS Dhoni, David Warner, and Chris Gayle. All of them have been using 50mm edges that helped them dominate bowlers, especially in the shorter versions of the game. Kieron Pollard, on the other hand, had been using a bat whose edges were thicker than what would be permitted from October and therefore, changed his bat during this year’s IPL itself, telling reporters that it "made no sense" to wait until October, reported TOI.
Among the Indian batsmen though, Dhoni is the only one who uses a bat with a 45mm edge. He also uses the heaviest bat with a total weight
Further, most other Indian players also use bats which are within the guidelines and this includes KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Rishabh Pant. Meanwhile, South Africa's AB de Villiers, Australia's Steve Smith and England's Joe Root also use bats with less than 40mm edges and won't need to change their gear.
