HYDERABAD: After playing professional cricket for years and facing quality-related issues with gear, Ananth Vinnakota and his friends realised that the sport and its enthusiasts deserve much more.
“When I was playing, I figured that there are many quality-related issues with the gear. The wear and bats were not custom-made. The cricketer had to practise for days to get used to a bat. Hence, we thought why not make a bat that suits the player’s style,” Ananth, who also designs bats for a world-class New Zealand-based cricket bat brand, says.
With the cricket fever picking up — thanks to the upcoming IPL and ongoing Women’s World Cup — he and his friends have come up with a custom cricket experience centre and gear company. Cricfuse, which was inaugurated by Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy at Jubilee Hills, Road No. 63 on Thursday, has a virtual reality (VR) room that helps players analyse their best moves, based on which the company custom-makes bats for them. They also factor in the players’ height and physique while making the bats, ensuring that it helps them perform well.
“Cricfuse is a one-stop shop for all accessories needed for the sport and is the largest cricket experience centre in Asia. It also has a tailor-made bat manufacturing unit. We decided to set it up after facing difficulties as professional players ourselves,” says Ananth, the director.
He and his team use VR technology to identify the player’s style of batting and pattern. “We also customise the grip and body of the bat based on the physique and holding style to ensure a seamless performance. In fact, cricketers perform way better when the bat, helmet, batting gloves and leg pads are perfectly tailored to accommodate their body comfortably,” he says.
The store offers 26 international brands. “The concept of experience stores is new. I am surprised to know that we can make cricket bats according to the needs of the players. The store will cater to amateurs as well as professionals. We are going to unveil more programmes soon,” Sailesh Narayana, the CEO.