Bat maker Gray-Nicolls aiming to sponsor Indian cricketers

One of the most popular bat manufacturers Gray-Nicolls is all set to make a return to Indian cricket after remaining in the oblivion for over 40 years. The British bat makers, who formerly sponsored legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar during late 1970, expressed their desire to sponsor the current crop of Indian cricketers.

HJ Gray and Sons and L.J. Nicolls came up with Gray-Nicolls in the early 1940s and found success straightaway acquiring some famous brands-Shaw and Shrewsbury and Wainwrights in the coming years. World Racket Champion HJ Gray founded the HJ Gray and Sons in the year 1855.

The company soon made a reputation for themselves in the market after supplying rackets to greats of the international arena. On the other hand, L.J. Nicols started making bats during the late 19th Century during his workshop in Robertsbridge where he also provided W.G.Grace with the bat which with which he scored his 100th century and made 1000 runs in 1894.

In a bid to attract big names of Indian cricket, the company has signed Karnataka captain Karun Nair and Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar. Brand Manager of Gray-Nicolls, Nick Wilton revealed that the Indian cricketers were in their scheme of things for a long time. “We wanted an Indian ambassador over the last few years but it’s proven tricky. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to have any conversation with Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli or any other Indian star.

“It was Games Unlimited (Sports Management Enterprise) which helped us get in touch with these two young Indian players. We sponsor Vijay and Karun and they endorse our products,” he was quoted as saying by Times of India.

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With many of the modern cricketers endorsing their brand, Wilton said that their main motive is to focus on Indian cricketers to make their brand more appealing. “We have a lot of international players who use our brand in Indian Premier League and promote it. Now we have our products in the dressing room of an Indian team. We will keenly follow the India-England Test series,” he said.