Firdous Hassan
Srinagar: If you are a professional cricket player without a platform to display your talent, a simple five-minute film may help to get you into one of the most prominent leagues in the Gulf or other nation.
After making it to the international cricket arena, a valley-based cricket bat manufacturing company will now help the local talent get desired opportunities.
Gr8 sports limited, a south Kashmir based cricket bat manufacturing company has signed MoU with various international cricket boards and leagues to scout fresh talent from the valley.
“We have witnessed that many cricket leagues are going on in the valley and our cricketers perform well in every department. So, now we are helping them get a bigger opportunity to earn fame and name in the world of cricket overseas,” Fawzul Kabeer, owner of the sports company said.
He said that any professional or budding cricketer will have to shoot his video playing his signature shots or bowling or wicket keeping and tag GR8 sports on social media handles.
“We are available on all social media platforms. Any cricketer who is best in batting, bowling or wicket keeping can share his video and tag GR8 sports so that our expert player management committee will watch it and short list them for trials ahead,” Kabeer said.
He said that in the year end selectors from various international cricket teams and leagues will visit the valley to conduct trials for these shortlisted players.
“We have to create a pool of cricketers which include 100 men from every department from the valley. The selectors, which includes four international players and coaches will visit the valley by the end of the year and select the best talent from the valley for various leagues,” he said.
Kabeer said that the company has tied up with 10 international cricket playing nations to gather the fresh talent from the valley. “It will be a bigger platform for our youth, who dream to make their career in cricket. There are many leagues including Caribbean Premier League, Qatar league in which our players will participate after selection,” he said.
Pertinently, GR8 sports became the first cricket bat manufacturing company to introduce the Kashmir willow cricket bats in international cricket.
The valley based company made cricket bats that were used during the T20 world cup 2021 by the cricketers from Oman cricket team.
J&K Government is also keen towards promotion of cricket bat industry of Kashmir enabling the Kashmir willow cricket bat to become a world class product.
The famous willow cricket bats of Kashmir are in the process of getting GI (Geographical Indication) tags.
