Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir broke his bat in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka while negotiating a Lasith Malinga delivery, while on Saturday too there was a bat breaking incident in an IPL match.
On Sunday, South African pacer Morne Morkel, batting down the order for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL match against Mumbai Indians, found the base of his bat shattered while facing Malinga in the 16th over.
Giving reasons behind such frequent incidents recently, Pankaj Kumar, in-charge of the bat manufacturing division with a Jalandhar-based leading bat manufacturer, said, "The moisture content of the wood should range between 8-16 per cent.
"When the moisture content falls below 8 per cent, as can be the case these days because of dry summer heat, the wood becomes brittle, which may be one reason behind breaking of the bats."
Kumar, who works with the FC Sondhi and Company India Private Ltd, said when the recommended moisture in the wood falls, the bat's wood becomes prone to coming off on high impacts.
"Moreover, international players want their bats to be match-ready and fit for stroke play from start and therefore, they are not hard pressed. Soft pressing of the bats, sometimes leads to less durability," Kumar said.
He said that VVS Laxman was playing with their bat under brand name "PRO", while they also manufacture bats for Puma and Slazenger, which are in turn used by some of the top international players.
Rana Raghunath Singh, Chairman, Sports Goods and Export Promotion Council, whose Jalandhar-based company Ranson Sports exports the bats, said that on occasions a portion of a bat is not pressed as ideally it should be, which can lead to incidents of bat breaking at the base or any other portion.
"Breaking of bats is not uncommon. It can happen sometimes. Sometimes, when bats are pressed for curves, a portion can remain which does not get pressed as it should have been," he pointed out.
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