Less demand for Kashmiri willows despite Team India on high

A good performance by the Indian cricket team at the World Cup usually translates into more business for bat manufacturers in Kashmir but this time the demand for the willow products has been low despite the Men in Blue reaching the quarterfinals of the mega-event.
"There is not much demand for cricket bats from rest of the country this time around due to some inexplicable reasons," Manzoor Ahmad, who owns a bat manufacturing factory at Sangam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, said.
Manzoor said that the bat manufacturers got huge orders when India team was progressing through the group stages of the World Cup in 2011, which was held in the subcontinent.

"Normally, the orders for cricket bats stop before the semi-final stage but in 2011, we kept getting orders even after India made it to the finals, beating Pakistan," he added.
Bashir Ahmad, another cricket bat factory owner, said the only reason for scarce demand could be because of ongoing annual examinations in schools all over the country.
"May be the focus on examinations has taken away the attention that cricket gets in the country," he said.
The sluggish demand for the cricket bats is threatening the industry that provides direct or indirect employment to nearly three lakh people in the valley.

"We send truck loads of bats ahead of and during the World Cup.