World Cup no cheer for Jalandhar sports units

Although the cricket World Cup is just a month away, there is no enthusiasm visible in the sports industry of Jalandhar, a city famous for supplying cricket equipment to cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Dhoni, among others.

This is in stark contrast with the brisk business that preceded the football World Cup last year.

No special products for the Cricket World Cup are on display at the exclusive sports market in Basti Nau.

Raghunagh S Rana, regional director of the Sports Goods Export Promotion Council and chairman of the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said there was no enthusiasm among exporters and manufacturers due to the World Cup and it was business as usual for them.

"As the World Cup is being organised in the West Indies, where cricket has declined in popularity, no merchandise companies are available there for establishing business ties. Sports goods exporters of the city have not received a single export order," Rana said, while talking about the lukewarm response.

"The fact that the matches will be played around midnight has also affected the business prospects of the sports industry," he said.

The potential for the export of cricket equipment was expected to have three phases: Pre-World Cup, during the World Cup, and post-World Cup.

"Australia winning the World Cup will have almost no impact on the export of cricket goods because by the time the World Cup is over, the cricket season in Australia will also be over. But if South Africa wins, there will be some impact on export," Rana said, adding that if India won, only the domestic business would benefit.

During the previous World Cup, held in South Africa, the city's sports industry, which exports sports goods worth Rs 450 crore annually, got export orders of about Rs 15 crore more than the routine export. This time, however, it was feared that the figure would not cross even Rs 5 crore, Rana said.

Rana, who owns Ranson Sports Goods, said for business promotion, he had signed contracts with two international cricket players, Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka and Fiddle Adverd of the West Indies, who would use his company's products.

Like exporters, even manufacturers, who are concerned with the domestic market, are not warming up to the Cup. Some cricket goods manufactures have blamed Jammu and Kashmir's policies and the attitude of English willow dealers in England for this.

"We are not allowed to bring willow from Kashmir due to the state government's ban on it. On the other hand, sensing more demand, English willow dealers have declined to supply wood in bulk," a sports goods maker said.