CHENNAI: Aspiring cricketers can soon have their own customised bats that will suit their style of play as former India opener Aakash Chopra has co-founded the country's first bespoke bat making sportstech company, Z-Bat.
Launched in December last year, the Z-Bat clinic in Mumbai has already attracted budding cricketers. Conceptualised by Samir Shah and Harshal Shah and moulded by start-up pioneer G Ramachandran, Z-Bat provides the opportunity to buy a bat that not only suits your style of play, but one which will ensure you get the most of it.
In a world driven by data, Chopra says these things can be put to use so that budding cricketers know what bat to use right from the time they start going to academy. "Customised bats have happened in the bast. Only problem is when a boy going to the academy, nobody tells him what bat to take. Because there is no customisation at that level. And it happens only for professionals as nobody wants to put time and energy for someone who doesn't play cricket for India," Chopra said of his new venture.
Z-Bat helps buyers to pick a bat that suits an individual's style, weight and flow and also depending on the position of batting position. "Do you know what works for you is the biggest question. No amount of customisation will be able to tell you what you want. We want to bridge that gap. So if a boy comes to the centre, he gets to bat against a bowling machine, where he will get test different bats based on your requirement. Once you bat against the machine, the censor is going to throw data, like what was the power in each bat and which one had the better timing. Every bat will throw up different data. You are not forcing anyone to buy a bat for the sake of it," Chopra added.
While cricket fanatics are introduced with this unique concept, Z-Bat is also empowering aspiring enthusiasts to become bat smiths and repair experts, as part of 'Made in India' initiative. "Undergoing meticulous research and study, there could be as many as 344 types of batters, in the age range of 8-80, we looked to incorporate new-age science and technology in making tailor-made bats. Today Z-Bats could be customised for openers, middle-order batsmen and tail-enders and also according to the condition of the pitch to get the best performance," said Harshal.