A worker walks past willow clefts which are used for manufacturing of cricket bats, in a factory in Kashmir.
Credit: PTI File Photo
With bats made of Kashmir willow set to make an official appearance at the 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time ever, bat manufacturers in the Valley are gearing up for an anticipated surge in demand.
According to Kashmir cricket bat manufacturers the demand for the bats has increased by 10 times in the last few weeks and they expect further surge in demand.
“As cricket frenzy has gripped the entire nation almost one lakh cricket bats are being exported to various states per week to meet the demand,” said Fawzul Kabir, spokesperson of the Kashmir Cricket Bat Manufacturers Association and added from Odisha to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and other states, cricket lovers prefer Kashmiri cricket bat this season.
Besides Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the players from the UAE, West Indies and Oman used Kashmiri bats during the World Cup qualifiers held in Zimbabwe.
The 31-year-old MBA graduate from Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kabir said the demand for Kashmir willow bats surged in the global markets after the international cricket players from Oman and the UAE used them in the T20 World Cups held in the UAE and Australia in 2021 and 2022.
Kabir, who owns GR8 Sports, a bat manufacturing unit in the Sangam area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, said Kashmir willow bats are going to be used by at least 17 international cricketers in the upcoming World Cup matches.
Kashmir has been producing bats for over a century, however, it has hardly found its prominence in world cricket until now. According to estimates, Kashmir willow bats are priced up to Rs 3,500 per piece, as against the English willow bats whose retail prices range between $220 (Rs 16,000 approx) and $450 (Rs 33,000 approx) per bat in international markets.
For further promotions of their brands, the bat manufacturers are approaching Team India players requesting them to promote and use Kashmir willow bats. They are hopeful that with the emergence of speedster Umran Malik, Kashmiri bats will see more demand in near future.
The surge in demand for Kashmiri cricket bats is not limited to domestic markets. Export orders from countries such as India, England, Australia, and New Zealand have also seen a notable uptick as the World Cup approaches
According to official figures, over 400 cricket bat-manufacturing units are functional in Kashmir on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, welcoming visitors with willow-clefts piled up on both sides of the road. The Jammu and Kashmir government is also working hard to get a geographic indication (GI) for Kashmir willow bats.