INDIA: CRICKET: Indian cricket bat makers left out of game by international brands

Record ID: 1374941

  • Title: INDIA: CRICKET: Indian cricket bat makers left out of game by international brands
  • Date: 8th February 2011
  • Summary: MUMBAI, INDIA (FEBRUARY 6, 2011) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) CHILDREN PLAYING CRICKET BOY HITTING THE BALL CHILD RUNNING ON THE FIELD WITH A BAT PLAYER BOWLING ANOTHER PLAYER HITTING THE BALL PLAYERS PLAYING CRICKET
  • Embargoed: 23rd February 2011 09:17
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India, India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Industry,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA3SJXPMS6360T91N4TPM8QBPR0
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: In cricket-mad India, family businesses who have been making bats and balls for generations face a future of anonymity with famous brand names taking the credit for big-hitter's bats.
    When the world's best batsmen take centre-stage in this month's World Cup, many will carry bats made in India, but the bats will carry the label of big international sporting brands.
    In cricket-mad India, global giants in the sporting goods manufacturing business are exchanging cash for their logo to appear on the bats of big-hitters and family business which have supplied the country's best batsmen for generations face a future of anonymity.
    There are hundreds of sports equipment makers in Meerut, India's "City of Sports".
    It is a major hub in the country's estimated 10 billion-rupee (219.5 million USD) cricket equipment market and factory owners say the marketing power of big corporates who have nothing to do with cricket gear, is casting a shadow over their business.
    Aditya Mahajan, Director of cricket equipment maker, Banarsi Das Mahajan and Sons (BDM), a 90 year-old firm that counts some of world's biggest cricket stars among its clients, said firms like his were fighting for recognition.
    "More than 80 percent of world cricket bats are made in India and rest 20 percent is other countries like Pakistan or Sri Lanka or Bangladesh or lets say England or Australia. But 80 percent of cricket bats are made in India and we all are cottage industries and we cannot compete with these big people who are paying big money probably for endorsing these players. Definitely, it hurts," said Mahajan at his factory in Meerut, some 80 kilometres (49.7 miles) northeast of Delhi.
    In his dust-filled workshop that employs 300, dozens of workers cut, glue, sand and bend wood for hundreds of bats everyday. Some are custom made to match the exact specifications of superstars who rely on their decades-old techniques.
    The family-run BDM has been in the business for generations and has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuria and West Indian legend Brian Lara.
    "They (stars) look at the stroke in a bat, the balance of a bat, how balanced a bat is. They choose a bat primarily based on its stroke and the balance," says Lalit Verma, factory supervisor.
    Wood shavings carpet the stone floor of the workshop, where scores of workers squat, filing the edges of countless bats to a smooth finish under towers of willow planks and cane handles that climb to the ceiling.
    Like many poor Indians, they dream of watching their hero Sachin Tendulkar, India's most famous cricketer and a demi-god to millions of fans, from the stands of a stadium, hoping that one of their bats are in his gloved hands.
    "Sachin Tendulkar is my favourite player. I enjoy watching him play not only because he is a great player but also because he is a very civilized player," said Nand Kishore, who puts rubber handles on bats for BDM.
    The workers here are paid 5,000 rupees (110 USD) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. It pales in comparison with the 2.4 million USD that Indian international batsman Gautam Gambhir will earn in the six-week long Indian Premier League this year.
    But just being associated with the Indian cricket world is fulfilling enough for most.
    The launch of he billion-dollar Indian Premier League in 2008 sent players' wages and TV rights skyrocketing. Although there are fears of cricket's over-commercialisation, the World Cup is seen as a good business opportunity for cricket equipment makers.
    With the first match set for February 19, the BDM factory is churning out 1,200 bats a day to meet its largest-ever order. Sacks are being stuffed full of balls branded with carmaker logos for promotional release during the six-week tournament.
    BDM produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region.
    Ten percent of the products are exported, mainly to cricketing heartlands of the United Kingdom, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    But despite the sponsorship and robust business, manufacturers still crave recognition and think the removal of their name from the equipment is unfair.
    "All the big professional players, they are using our stuff whether as a brand they are using it or not but we cannot afford to give them the royalty because basically they are using brand names like Reebok, Adidas, MRF, Hero Honda, Britannia. These kinds of brands they just have their stickers and they put their stickers on the bat. Our manufacturers and all manufacturers from India, they (such corporates) are ruining their brand, they are not making their brand," said Rakesh Mahajan, Aditya's uncle and Director of BDM.
    Much of production at these factories in Meerut is done locally. Apart from the work that goes on in the workshop-factory, villagers stitch together balls at home.
    These, along with the bats are used in matches and smashed into boundaries by India's top batsmen. But when they reach the pitch, the balls too will carry the logo of a sports equipment maker and not its actual manufacturer and BDM and its Meerut competitors Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) and Sareen Sports (SS) Industries, will remain unknown.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register