In the remote locations of Uttarahalli in a sits Ram Bhandari who is called the ‘Bat Doctor’. Ram is known for repairing and modifying cricket bats with special techniques he had learned being a carpenter. He has a vast list of clients including legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and even Ricky Ponting. This year he had worked on Virat Kohli’s bat before he left for the World Cup and had explained on how he prefers the handle of the bat being an oval shape rather than circular.
Originally from Bihar, he had moved to Bengaluru in 1979 after doing a series of odd jobs in a number of states. In order to sustain himself, he used to make adjustments to his own bats earlier, and soon began doing that for local players and it worked out.
Ram was able to use his skills as a carpenter on to cricket bats. Rahul Dravid was one of his first clients, after getting acquainted with him during the Ranji Trophy. Following this famous names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma have been visitors to his workshop. With his hard work and love for the cricket Ram has managed to get a name for himself.
