ANANTNAG (India) (AFP) – When the cricket World Cup kicks off in India this October, several players will be carrying Kashmiri willow wood bats. But manufacturers in the region say over-exploitation of trees means their famous craft faces ruin. Supplies of willow wood are rapidly vanishing amidst rampant logging and insufficient replanting. The Kashmiri cricket bat industry supplies the bulk of global supply and is central to the contested region’s economy, employing some 120,000 people across 400 workshops.
