Kashmir willow bats set to feature in ODI World Cup after successful trial in qualifying campaign

The century-old cricket bat industry of Kashmir Valley has become the biggest competitor for the famous English willow cricket bats. The number of cricket-playing nations picking up bats from Kashmir Valley has risen tremendously. And this year Made in Kashmir Bats will debut in the One Day International World Cup. 

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 in the Valley. 

Fawzal Kabeer, who is the owner of GR8 Sports, Kashmir, said, “Last year when we took it to the T20 World Cup, the whole world came to know that we have an alternative in the form of Kashmir willow. The biggest six of the tournaments was hit with our bat. Now we have made our debut in one-day internationals. And as players are 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 recognised for 100 years now. We are giving the world an alternative that is economical but will also help our economy to boost. The Omani cricketer used our bat just two days ago. The capability of our bat is such that it’s better than the English willow. We have proved to the world about the quality of the bats and have kept extremely low pricing for these as compared to others,” Kabeer added. 

GR8 Sports, a local company in the Halmula- Sangam area of Anantnag, has helped change the fate of the cricket bat industry in the Kashmir Valley. The company managed to get their manufactured bats used by the Oman cricket team during the T-20 world cup last year. And now the same company bats are making a debut in the prequalifying 50 over International Cricket World Cup. 

And since the quality of the cricket bats from the Kashmir Valley is at par with the English Willow, more and more countries are ordering their cricket bats from Kashmir. The pricing remains one of the main factors too as English willow bats in the market cost around Rs one lakh ($1,216), while Kashmir willow bats are ten times lesser. Around a dozen cricket-playing countries have placed orders with Kashmir Bat manufacturers. And this year GR8 bat manufacturing company has received so many orders that they are working day and night. 

A decade ago, around 300 thousand bats were made in Kashmir Valley and these numbers now have gone up to three million bats per year. There are around 400 bat factories in the Kashmir Valley and over 100 thousand people associated with the industry.

”After last year, our bat was able to hit the biggest six of the tournaments in Australia. Many orders poured in, and we were able to supply around 1.5 lac bats last year. That was only exports.  We are right now producing 3 million bats in Kashmir annually. This year we are hoping to get more orders from the international market after making a debut in the one-day international. And once you are into exports that means money is coming into your country and you are helping the economy of the country. This will further help the economy of Kashmir, They have already replaced English Willow with the Kashmir willow bats,” Kabeer further said.  

The domestic cricketers are also now using Kashmir willow bats. Many cricket academies are trying their hands in Kashmir willow bats to train their students they feel is cheap and best quality bat. 

The domestic cricketers are also now using Kashmir willow bats. Many cricket academies are trying their hand at Kashmir willow bats to train their students. 

While the government is also in the process to give a unique identification to Kashmir willow bats and the process for giving it a GI tag is going on. 

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