Kashmir willow bats to dazzle in 2023 ODI World Cup

The 2023 ODI World Cup which is slated to be held in India during October-November, will see the use of Kashmir willow bats for the first time in the mega ICC event. Cricketers from six nations which include the likes of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, West Indies, and Sri Lanka, are expected to use the Kashmir willow instead of the traditional English willow in the World Cup fixtures.

Fayaz Ahmad Dar, president of the cricket bat manufacturing association of Kashmir, confirmed that the Kashmir willow bats will dazzle in the mega ODI event in India, as certain international players will prefer the use of these bats instead of the English willow.

“Kashmir willow has arrived. It is for the first time in the 50-over cricket world cup that some international players will pick bats made of Kashmir willow. Earlier it was just English willow. For the past couple of years, the Kashmir willow has occasionally made its presence felt in T20 world cups. Earlier, we also supplied bats for IPL,” said Fayaz Ahmad Dar as quoted by Hindustan Times.

The use of these bats will essentially boost the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make in J&K’ campaigns. Kashmir has been producing bats for over a century, however, it has hardly found its prominence in world cricket until now. 

Fawzul Kabir, one of the pioneers to market and brand the Kashmir willow, expressed his involvement in positioning the bats and was delighted that players from other countries will use them in the forthcoming ICC ODI event.

“A few players in the past two T20 world cups used Kashmir willow and now it will debut in 50 over world cup this year. Players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, UAE, and Oman are going to play with our bats,” he said.

"I worked on its promotion, development and technical advancement for the past 13 years and also got ICC approval. Last year one of our bats was able to hit the biggest six of the ICC T20 world cup in Australia. We proved to the world that there is an alternative to English willow in the form of Kashmir willow,” Kabir added.