Zing-bail malfunction leads to WPL rule adjustment: Wicket now broken only when bail is completely dislodged

Following the controversial run-out incidents during the intense match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians on February 15, the WPL has issued a new directive to teams. According to the new ruling, the LED bail must now be completely removed for umpires to confirm that the wicket has been broken in cases of run-out and stumping decisions.

This means the pre-existing playing condition, which states that the stumps are deemed to be broken when the bails light up, will not be applicable in WPL 2025 going forward. Appendix D of the tournament playing conditions, which was shared with teams in the lead-up to the season, states: "where LED wickets are used, the moment at which the wicket has been put down shall be deemed to be the first frame in which the LED lights are illuminated and subsequent frames show the bail permanently removed from the top of the stumps."

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the reason for the rule change is that the batch of bails being used during this WPL have been lighting up at the slightest disturbance, even when both spigots have not come off the grooves on top of the stumps. Under the Laws of cricket, a bail is completely dislodged only when the bail comes entirely off the groove.

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The BCCI has used the Zing brand of bails both in bilateral and domestic cricket including the IPL and WPL. Each of the Zing bails, which are also used widely in international cricket including ICC events, contains a microprocessor that detects the moment when both spigots have come off their grooves, and causes the bail to light up within 1/1000th of a second. During this WPL, it is understood that the bails began to flash even when one spigot was still resting on its groove. Consequently it was decided that third umpires would base their final ruling on the moment when the bail becomes completely dislodged, with both spigots coming off their grooves.

This was why Gayathri Venugopalan, the third umpire for the Capitals-Mumbai match, made her final ruling in the three run-out decisions - which led to widespread debate - based on the point when the bails were completely off their grooves.

It is learned that the match officials were told about this rule change on the morning of the Capitals-Mumbai match, which was the second game of the season. The teams, though, were notified on the day after the match.