Tripura set to score big with bamboo-made cricket batsTripura has emerged as the front-runner in manufacturing cricket bats made of bamboo, which, some experts believe, is a more sustainable option than the traditional willows. With the new alternative having caught the fancy of the cricketing world, the northeastern state, which grows the grass in abundance, is planning to cash in on the opportunity with bamboo bats manufactured indigenously, by means of a unique glue-board technology.

A research institute in Agartala, which is a part of the Centre-affiliated Bamboo and Cane Development Institute (BCDI), has recently made bamboo bats, taking a cue from a study conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, and presented samples to H G Cricket Company in Meerut and Virender Sehwag Cricket Academy in Delhi. Arun Sharma, the director of the Agartala-based North East Centre for Technology Application and Research (NECTAR), along with a team of BCDI officials, also met Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb to showcase the product the institute has manufactured.