Cricket goods industry back in game after India’s World Cup win

Talking to The Indian Express,Ramesh Kohli of Beat All Sports (BAS),whose bats are used,among others,by Sachin Tendulkar,said that though preparations for the World Cup were made by almost every manufacturer,there were few orders during the tournament. But now,after India’s victory,they are flooded with calls from all over the country.

“Our dealers told us that if India won they would not leave a single bat with us,” said Kohli,who has just returned from Mumbai after watching the final.

Ravinder Dhir,owner of Dixon Sports Goods,said there would be a boom in demand after India’s victory and they are expecting large orders.

Raghunath Rana of Ransons Sports,Chairman of the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association and another leading manufacturer of cricket bats,said,“There are three stages in any sports event – pre-event,the main event and post-event. There was hardly any boom at the pre-event stage. But India performed very well in the next two stages and a big boom is expected as we have already started getting some good orders.”

He added that,like the Football World Cup last year,which witnessed huge orders with Jalandhar manufacturers,they were expecting really big orders. Moreover,with the IPL matches ahead,the cricket frenzy will only increase and the industry can look forward to a prolonged boom.

It is learnt that in the 2007 World Cup,despite India’s poor performance,Jalandhar’s cricket industry had received orders worth Rs 10 crore. “This time,the industry would get much bigger order because India are world champions,” said Rana.