One lakh bats are being manufactured to be distributed in Gujarat with stickers of Swami Vivekananda pasted on them.
"A Meerut-based company, Hans Rubber, has placed orders for 'tennis ball' cricket bats with around half a dozen manufacturing units here. We believe the order has been placed by an NGO from Gujarat," Shakeel Ahmad of Front Line Bat Manufacturing Unit told PTI.
Ahmad said the manufacturers have been asked to paste stickers of Swami Vivekananda on the bats, which are slightly bigger in size than regular bats.
"The bats are slightly longer and wider. These cannot be used for play with regular leather cricket ball ... Only tennis balls or plastic balls can be used with these bats," he said.
An official of Hans Rubber said they outsourced the order as Kashmir willow is famous the world over.
Other bat manufacturers maintain that they are not aware of the identity of the company or person who has placed such a large order for these cricket bats, worth around Rs 2 crore, and would not dig much into it as their basic concern was to avail the business opportunity. (MORE)