SRINAGAR, SEP 11: For the first time, bats made of Kashmir willow will be used by players of three nations in the ICC men’s cricket world cup scheduled to be held in October-November this year.
Cricketers from six nations including the West Indies, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman and UAE had decided to play with bats made of Kashmiri willow in the World Cup. Since three countries could not qualify for the World Cup, only players from three countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play with bats made of Kashmir willow.
These bats have been manufactured by a company GR8 Sports in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district owned by 31-year-old Fawzul Kabir.
There are 400 bat manufacturing units in Kashmir earning around Rs 300 crores annually. “Bats are made of English and Kashmiri willow. There is very little difference between English and Kashmir willow despite our bats not being picked up by international cricketers. I worked on its promotion, and technical advancement and used advanced technology and then got ICC approval. In the ICC 50-over world cup, we will sponsor bats to 17 players of three teams-Srilanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan,” Fawzul said.
Elaborating further, he said the bat manufacturing units in Kashmir were not able to maintain the standards of the ICC. “Our raw material is the same as English willow. However, our craftsmen were not trained to maintain the standards of the ICC. What should be the weight and size of a bat? Each player uses different bats for different formats of cricket,” he said.
Kabir added, “A player uses different bats on different pitches like slow or bouncy wickets. We had little knowledge about these things. I did research and visited different bat manufacturing companies and then implemented those things here only then our company got ICC approval in 2021,” Fawzul, who has been in the bat manufacturing business for the last 13 years, said.
“Last year one of the players of the UAE Junaid Siddiqui was able to hit the biggest six (109 metres) in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia with a bat made of Kashmir willow which proved that Kashmir willow is not less than English willow,” he said.
Abdul Hamid, a Kashmiri botanist, said both English and Kashmir willow are made from the same tree called Salix alba. “The best place to grow this tree is England and Kashmir because of weather conditions like rainfall, soil nutrients, moisture, and climate changes. They are solid and durable, with a high rebound quality and low moisture content. The raw material is the same however the only difference is colour. English willow bats shine brighter than their Kashmiri counterparts because the English willow is lighter than the Kashmir willow,” he said.
Asked how Salix alba which was grown in England came to Kashmir, he replied, “Over a hundred years ago when Britishers ruled India, seeing the similarities of climate, they planted Salix alba saplings in Kashmir. This is the reason Kashmir willow shares similar characteristics with English willow.”
A senior official of the J&K government’s Industries and Commerce Department said they are in the process of getting a GI tag for bats made out of Kashmir willow. “We are also creating awareness on how to improve the quality and maintain ICC standards,” the official added.
