Traditional Indian cricket bat

Traditional Indian cricket bats are wooden bats made in India, in regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab ,Haryana, Gujrat and Rajasthan. In Kashmir it is made out of willow found in northern India whereas, trees like teak and saal wood are used in making these bats in north-western region of country. Some bats made in Kashmir are of international standards and are/were used by many national players in India such as Sunil Gavaskar ,Virender Sehwag ,Yuvraj Singh,etc .Bats made in other regions are generally of lower quality and mainly used in non-professional games of cricket such as tennis ball cricket which are played in streets and neighborhoods across India.
Kashmiri Willow Bats
The willow used in making these bats was brought in by the British, who ruled India, during the 1920's. The villages nestled high in the mountains which were abundant with willow of Kashmir accounted for the majority of the world's cricket bats during 1970's when its manufacturing started. These bats are not only popular in India ,but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka .The cost range of these bats is from a mere Rs.500 to Rs.10000. Generally considered to be heavier than English willow bats ,these bats are preferred by players of the sub-continent who prefer the greater speed generated off these bats. Traditional methods are still used by the industry established in Kashmir, whereby bats are shaped by hand and eye measurements, combining traditional tools with modern technology.
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Kashmiri bats require constant knocking and oiling for making the bat good enough to use in a cricket match.Knocking is done so as to make the fibres of the willow blade compress together which helps the bat bear the impact of the ball. The best way is to use an old ball or bat mallet. Constant knocking for six hours is required so that the edges of the bat are well shaped. Another major aspect of taking care of such bats is Oiling .Oil is applied on the back, toe , front and edges of the bat to make it more durable and the fibers get knitted properly.Some of the disticts were these bats are made in Kashmir are as follows :
*Anantnag
*Baramula
*Pahalgam.
Few of the companies that produce Kashmiri Bats are as follows:
* Sareen sports Industries
* SG Cricket
* BDM Cricket bats
* Syndicate Sports Goods
Problems of Bat Industry in Kashmir
The bat industry these days in Kashmir is facing a number of problems and are losing their market shares not only in India ,but internationally. The constant competition from the English Willow and Kookaburra bats, which are used by many international players such as Ricky Ponting, are proving to be tough competition for Indian made bats. For the time being, Kookaburra bats are withdrawn from the market, but still continue to pose a treat to the Kashmiri Bat industry.Kashmiri willow is also regarded to be of inferior quality to English willow bats as it is considered to be of lesser quality in terms of grain quality and structure.
Another major problem is that of terrorism and constant unrest in the Kashmir valley which is causing losses in the region of Rs.30 crore to the industry .The hub of bat manufacturing is done around the seven villages—Charsoo, Hallmullaha, Bijbehara, Sangam, Sethar, Pujteng and Mirzapor in the South Kashmir, are the ones who have been badly hit .
The bat factories located in the villages ,which, according to traders, used to make nearly five lakh bats per year have been torn apart by turmoils.
A new ray of hope was seen for this industry during the IPL seasons. The emergence of Indian Premier League is proving to be a positive effect on the cricket bat manufacturing industry in Kashmir. Also during the the Cricket World Cup 2011, the sales figures of these bats rose from 15% to 18%
Other Areas and bats
Generally bats in other parts of country are made from the local wood found in the areas. These bats are of low quality and do not require as much care or knocking. These bats are made by local bat-makers,and sell them at a price range of Rs.200-300. One such establishment of bat-makers are from Gandhinagar, who migrate during the summer to different parts of the nation. They can even be seen selling the new mongoose cricket bats and are preferred by casual players of the game.

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