Kashmir Made Bats Enter International Cricket

t was during the early years of 1900 that the bat manufacturing started after Britishers preferred to make them locally so that they aren’t required to ship the same from England. Since then some 300 units have come up in Halmulla area of Sangam in Anantnag district which generates employment for around 30000 people locally and fetches some 60CR annually to this industry. Earlier, the bat manufacturers in many parts of mainland India like Merut, Jallandhar would buy semi-finished raw material from local manufacturers here and then sell on higher prices in the international market. Now, Gr8 Sports, a Sangam-based firm took the matter into its hands and after strenuous hard work of more than a decade got a chance to feature their products including Cricket bat and other protective gear for Oman’s international cricket team. The products of Gr8 company were used in the last T20 world Cup after ICC approved them for international use. Since then many international exporters have shown interest in the export of Kashmir made willows to other cricket-playing nations and giving a flip to this ailing industry in the valley, the potential of which had never been tapped by the locals before.