Best Cricket Bat Companies in India

I’ve looked at some of the top global brands but now it’s time to focus on specific countries. Here are the best cricket bat companies in India.

Top Indian Cricket Bat Manufacturers

Sareen Sports Industries (SS)

This list is not in an order from best downwards, but the Sareen Sports Industries brand is probably the most well known in and out of India. It’s certainly one of the biggest worldwide bat companies and many global players like to use this equipment.

The organisation was founded in 1969 by N.K. Sareen as a general sports company, while it produced its first cricket bat in 1976. Indian cricketers were quick to use this brand and some of the biggest names to have wielded a SS bat include Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Away from India, Quinton de Kock and his South African international team mate JP Duminy have both used SS products.

SS use both English willow and Kashmir willow to produce a wide range of bats. Club cricketers can try them out as they have a range of prices to suit all budgets.

Sanspareils Greenlands (SG)

They’ve been around since 1931 and have enjoyed the support of many top players as they start to approach their 100th anniversary. Sanspareils Greenlands was set up by the Anand brothers and they began to receive worldwide interest when Sunil Gavaskar began to use their bats in the 1970s.

A more recent ambassador for SG was Rahul Dravid in the 1990s, while other top Indian players to use their bats include Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. There’s a good mix of players in that list with power hitters involved, along with touch players such as Dravid.

That suggests there is a wide range of bats coming out of the SG stable. The SG King Cobra was Rahul Dravid’s weapon of choice, but there are lots of alternatives here.

BD Mahajan & Sons (BDM)

This is one of the more recent bat manufacturers and we first saw BDM bats come onto the market in 1986. Currently located in Meerut, they have a reputation for high quality bats that tend to be a little more affordable than those from many of their competitors.

This is why a lot of club cricketers tend to like their products, but they have also been used by Indian professionals. Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are three notable names to have used BDM products in the past.

This manufacturer uses both Kashmir and English willow, but the English options tend to be among their best sellers. The BDM Dynamic Power and the BDM Boom are popular among customers.

BDM may not be quite so familiar around the world, but they have a loyal customer base in certain countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

Beat All Sports (BAS)

Having been originally set up in 1950, Beat All Sports are one of the oldest cricket bat manufacturers outside of England. They promise to make the best handcrafted cricket bats and equipment and they’ve enjoyed a loyal following among current and former players.

Reviews suggest that the Vampire and the Vintage bats are the most popular. They tend to have a larger sweet spot which can result in more power. But, because of the lengthy handcrafting process that it takes to finish one of these bats, they do tend to be premium products.

In summary, BAS may be great if you are an established club cricketer, looking to score consistently across a season, and you have the budget to back it up. Those that are just starting out might want to consider another manufacturer first.

MRF (India)

MRF is another brand of cricket bat that is used by players all over the world. It’s a familiar piece of equipment at the IPL and in other limited overs and first class cricket matches. MRF bats have been used by both Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, and they are two of the best batsmen in the history of the game.

Both Tendulkar and Kohli combine touch with power and that’s an indication that MRF make very versatile cricket bats.

MRF is an abbreviation for the Madras Rubber Company who made a number of different products before branching out into cricket bat manufacturing in the 1970s.

They also have one of the most diverse sets of bats around at the moment. There is an even mix of Kashmir Willow and English Willow with prices to suit all pockets. It’s an established brand and MRF is becoming more widespread among professional and club cricketers around the world.

A2 Cricket

While they are a very new brand, I had to include A2 Cricket as they seem to have built up a very impressive reputation in a short period of time. India’s women’s captain Mithali Raj is their brand ambassador and a number of her teammates have been seen using the brand.

The main focus here is on English willow and that’s an unusual approach for an Indian bat marker. The English bats can be more expensive, but they are far more durable and hard wearing.

One of their major advantages is that customers can go online to the A2 cricket website and design their own bats. That’s a more expensive option, but it’s certainly possible to buy off the shelf products that include the Vertex, the Astral and the Acme.

Conclusion

India may just well be the most diverse bat producing country in the world. While there is still a demand for English willow, there will be a higher percentage of Kashmir willow here than anywhere else.

I’ve discussed the relative merits of English and Kashmir willow elsewhere, but it’s good to have that choice.

As for the brands that we’ve covered here, they are the best that India has to offer and there are some seriously impressive products. There is a huge range to suit all pockets so, whether you are a serious player who wants to spend significantly on a bat, or you just want to try something out at a lower cost, this list has you covered.