Namaste, As-salamu alaykum friends. I'm here in Sialkot..
And I'm about to take you on a tour of a factory which is manufacturing cricket items.
It's gonna be really really cool.
I wanna tell you a few things about Sialkot first before we hit the factory.
Sialkot is a huge export hub in Pakistan. One of the largest export hubs in all of Pakistan.
Sialkot is famous for sporting goods like we're gonna see.
For medical supplies.
Like there's literally houses of just locals creating masks and all this type of stuff to support the medical industry and to fight against corona.
And they're also famous for musical instruments.
And then also clothing. Like Zara makes their clothes here.
In terms of sporting goods, the Nike factory is just up this road here.
And, Adidas as well. And also all the other things if you love Soccer.
The official FIFA balls are made here, like, something like 70% of the world's Soccer balls are made here along this road.
Here in Sialkot.
So this is Sialkot. A very very very important place here in Pakistan and I'm at a friend's Cricket bat factory.
And, oh my god.
Let's just start the tour here. The wood is there. The bat manufacturing is here and yeah let me show you around, okay?
Mohammad, what are you manufacturing here at your factory?
Cricket bats, field hockey sticks and paddle racquets and cricket ball and all accessories.
Wow! Anything to do with Cricket and Hockey.
All accessories regarding bat and hockey.
And what is the brand of bat that you're making?
We are making our own brand from last 70 years with the name of MB malik.
Awesome. You know your last name is the same as my wife.
That's really good to know.
Except she's a Malik from Haryana. Over in India.
Really good to know.
Chalo. Let's go and see your factory and just take us through making a Cricket bat. I think it'd be cool.
First things first: we need some wood.
There are two types of wood used for Cricket bats. English Willow and locally produced Kashmir Willow.
After the wood is dried for 3 months, it's cut into the two main parts of the cricket bat.
The body and the handle.
You can see the entire process is done by hand and by experienced craftsmen.
And it's such a pleasure to watch these guys work and turn a log into a sixer. It's a beautiful thing.
Inside this room, the bat's handle is being shaped.
And how satisfying is it to watch those wood shavings fly everywhere.
Now that both parts of the bat are ready, this craftsman is fixing the handle to the body with glue.
Then it's left to dry for 24 hours.
Back over at the store, the bat is being shaped and now it's really starting to look like a Cricket bat.
The bats then get some fine-tuning and they're sanded to become smooth.
Finally, lacquer is applied for gloss finish and then once that's dried, stickers and grip are put on.
The material for the grip actually used to come from India.
But, tensions between the two countries has disrupted trade.
And now tell me...How did this factory start then?
It was founded in 1964 by my grandfather. He used to make bats in somebody else's factory. He was a worker.
Awesome. I'm sure you guys are feeling exactly the same way as I am after seeing these craftsmen in action.
It's beautiful to see this. I love Make in India and I love Make in Pakistan. Like...
We should be producing our own goods and Sialkot is...it's like an inspiration for us, right?
To see how much they're producing here and how much they're exporting to the world and making Pakistan proud. It's really really cool.