J&K: Fawzul Kabir from south Kashmir’s Anantnag is getting the Valley its much-deserved place on the international stage. Through his company, GR8 Sports India Pvt Limited, he’s producing world-class cricket bats now wielded by about 50 international players in both men’s and women’s circuits. “Kashmir has been supplying raw materials for bat manufacturing for over 100 years, yet these bats were rarely marketed as a Kashmiri brand to international customers. The companies used to take our willow and rebrand it as their own,” Kabir recalled.In 2010, he set out to change this. Wanting to see a Kashmiri brand alongside the likes of Gunn & Moore, Kookaburra and SG, he, over the next decade, travelled to all the test-playing nations, met players, coaches, umpires, groundstaff, craftsmen and experts to take their insights and even upgraded his manufacturing unit to international standards. As Kabir had no financial backing from anywhere, he sold his nearly 40 kanals (about 4 acres) of land and other assets to fund his mission. Finally, in 2021, ICC gave its approval to Kabir’s bats, meeting all the international standards.The bat quickly made its mark. In the same year, five Oman players used GR8 bats in the 2021 T20 World Cup. It was the first time that a Kashmir-produced bat was being used on the international stage under a Kashmiri label.Then, the next year, it had its moment under the sun when UAE player Junaid Siddique hit the longest six (109 meters) of the 2022 T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
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