World Cup 2019: Bengaluru ‘bat doctor’ helps Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma succeed

Bengaluru: As Indian batsmen prepare to face New Zealand at the ICC World Cup 2019 on Thursday (June 13) in England, a Bengaluru man is happy that his hard work has yielded results over the years. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni have immensely benefited from this man.

Meet Ram Bhandari, the ‘bat doctor’, who is instrumental in balancing the bats and giving India’s willow wielders the right weapon to demolish bowlers around the globe. His work is being seen in England and Wales at the ongoing World Cup 2019.

Bhandari has worked with legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, designing their bats. And he still continues to serve the game with the current crop of stars.

In an exclusive interview with Newsable, Bhandari shared his story. He said he started off with Rahul Dravid in 2004 at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and repaired his bat handle. Later, he went on to gain the confidence of other players and later designed bats for Tendulkar, Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the men who brought India the 2011 World Cup after 28 years. Now he wants Kohli and his men repeat the feat in England.

According to him, the bat with comes with round shape handle and he works it to make an oval shape for a better grip and reduces bat’s weight and guess what, he does all this with his hand and that too alone.