City sports unit recalls long association with Dhoni
Aakanksha N Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 4
Mehnga Ram, who is around 60, is busy giving final touches to one of the several bats while on the other side, he has kept his mobile phone on a stand and makes sure that he doesn’t miss even a single ball as he watches a match on it being played under the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England.
He is one of the many workers who is behind these bats as they are made and dispatched by them and are used by several cricket players across the country and other nations. Their skillful hands move almost automatically with precision and machine-like accuracy.
Somi Kohli, owner of Beat All Sports (BAS), monitors each and every move and is watchful about the ongoing process as he does not want that anything go wrong.
The industry in Jalandhar has come in the limelight as for the World Cup 2019, locally made bats will be used by MS Dhoni, one of the star cricketers in the Indian team.
Somi said he came in contact with Dhoni in 1999 and since then, Dhoni had been using the bats that were manufactured in the unit.
While sharing the story of his meeting with Dhoni, Somi shared: “One of my friends and a sports dealer from Ranchi, Paramjit Singh, had first told me about Dhoni and had said there was a very good player and an upcoming star and he asked me to sponsor him.
“At that time, I did not know anything about him but after three-four months, I sent the kit. Since that day, he has achieved miles and I am the happiest person. He had won the 2011 World Cup as skipper and has played several matches,” Somi added.
MSD using our bats in other tourneys too: Somi
Somi said he had recently given a bat to Dhoni for the IPL.
“In England, in one of the practice matches against Bangladesh, he played with the bat with our sticker on,” he said.
Special bats
He used to play with heavy bats which would weigh more than 1,200 gm. But for this World Cup, the bat which is made for him weighs around 1,160-1,180 gm. The wood is English Willow. The toe guard of the bat which Dhoni will use is round in shape and he uses oval handle.
Even Hashim Amla, a South African player, uses our bats, said Somi.
“He uses lighter bat than what Dhoni plays with,” he said.
About the sports unit
Somi’s father Desraj Kohli and his brother Mulkhraj Kohli had started the sports unit in 1950, after they migrated here from Pakistan. After them, his elder brother Ramesh Kohli struggled a lot in this business and he passed away recently.
“But he brought up various techniques and he wanted that Indian products must have a name worldwide for which he worked a lot,” shared Somi. He apprised that his association with Sachin Tendulkar was as old when the latter was 16-year-old. And he has also played with the bats which were sent from here.
Workers’ date with players
Making the bats is more of a manual process. Surinder Kumar has been working with the sports unit since the past nearly 40 years. While doing his work, he stops for a while and shares his joy and contentment and says: “When we see star players playing with bats which we have made for them, nothing else can beat that feeling. We also tell about the same to our children and they also get happy,” he said.
Similar is the story of Balwant Giri and Rakesh, who are working at the unit. They had also met Dhoni and other players, during the latter’s visit to the city.
