Ram Bhandari: Celebrity bat repairer

Ram Bhandari, has a small workshop in Ilyas Nagar, where he repairs cricket bats. Here is a list of his customers – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.

It’s not just Indian players. Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Luke Wright, and Kieron Pollard have also sought his help to fix their bats.

All cricketers have favourite bats and are handicapped when they wear out. They always look for competent repairmen who can put them back in shape.

Ram Bhandari is in demand because he understands how important it is keep in tact the weight and balance of the bat while repairing it. It was Rahul Dravid who spotted his skill first and told his friends about him. The word spread and Ram Bhandari soon had the who’s who of cricket sending their bats to him.

Besides Rahul David, Ram Bhandari has also had a long association with Sachin Tendular. He says he reduced the weight of Sachin's bat from 1350 grams to 1250 grams. He has also acted in the upcoming movie ‘Sachin’ where he plays himself in a scene.

Ram Bandari moved to Bengaluru from Bihar in 1979. He had learnt carpentry from his grandfather and took to repairing bats in his spare time initially. That has become his main job now.

Despite having an impressive list of customers, Ram Bhandari remains a poor man. He says he never demands money from Indian players and accepts whatever they give. The international players pay between Rs 600 to Rs 800 depending on the nature of repair.