The Kashmiri Willow bats are set to feature in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India after they went under successful trials in the qualifying phase of the tournament. Manufactured in India’s Kashmir, the bats were first seen used by the Oman cricket team at a World Cup in 2022. They used it in the 2022 edition while bat’s performance saw it hit the longest six in the tournament. Now, used in the ongoing qualifying stage of the ODI World Cup in Zimbabwe, the bats will be a feature story for the coming months.
Kashmir Willow bats to become prominent?
Since the 2020 World Cup in Australia, more and more cricket playing nations are choosing cricket bats made in the Kashmir Valley. In 2023, Teams from six countries including Afghanistan, UAE, Sri Lanka, Oman, West Indies and Bangladesh will be using cricket bats made in the Kashmir Valley. This could mean a new dawn for the cricket bat industry of the Valley.
The project undertaken by GR8 Sports, a small business in the Anantnag neighbourhood of Halmula-Sangam, will now see the next generation don blade. The bat costs 10 times less than an English Willow bat and has the same performance par compared and could be a feature more prominently at major tournaments.
“Last year when we took it to T20 World Cup whole world came to know that we have an alternative in the form of Kashmir willow last the longest six was hit by our bat. Now we made our debut in one-day internationals. And as the player is tested more in One-Day cricket instead of T20 the same test will be of our bat too. In one day, our bat performance will be judged. We were not recognized for 100 years now we are giving the world an alternative this is an economical bat and will also help our economy to boost,” GR8 Sports, owner Fawzal Kabe was quoted saying by Zeenews. “We are 400 factories who are manufacturing cricket bats of which 1.5 lakh people are directly and indirectly dependent,” he added.
A decade ago, around 300 thousand bats were made in Kashmir Valley and these numbers now have gone up to 3 million bats per year. There are around 400 bat factories in the Kashmir Valley and over 100 thousand people associated with the industry.
Why the Kashmir Willow bats?
The Kashmir Willow bats are less expensive compared to the standard version of bats used at present. The prices of one English Willow bat ranges from Rs 70000 to 1 lakh and are thus out of reach for a domestic cricketer in India. At the same time, the performance of the Kashmir Willow bats has been good and more efficient while they have a good center of gravity.
“In the matches I have played I found Kashmir willow bats are good, so I am planning to use them in our academy. English willow bats are expensive this Kashmir willow is good as well as cheap it’s a good bad,” Dehradun cricket academy coach Abhishek added while speaking about the bat.
