“Of the 20-odd cricket gear brands in the world, 18 are manufactured in the pockets of Jalandhar and Meerut. So essentially the world’s cricket goods market is hostage to the design, materials and technology coming out of these two cities in India. And it’s stuck there because they’ve figured out how to churn out products at extremely competitive price points,” says Sanath Reddy, the 30-year-old founder and director of Moonwalkr, maker of a new cricket leg guard which entered the markets earlier this month.
But was there really a need for a new type of cricket leg pads, since the old ones seemed to have been serving players pretty well, without too many voices being raised in complaint? The issue, argues Ajay YJ, co-founder of Moonwalkr and Reddy’s childhood friend, was with the way its function was perceived. A batsman faces cricket balls hurled at him at speeds of over 130 kmph and then also has to run quickly between the wickets . “We saw an opportunity because we realised that protection should not be at the cost of speed and mobility. For instance, there is a lot of difference when you run with and without pads on,” says Ajay who came on board at the prototype stage. “We looked at the function of the batsman as a whole, so our leg guards are not just protective gear — they offer protection with mobility and speed.”
Reddy has played cricket for Karnataka, while Ajay has played at the first division level, so they were quite familiar with what they were dealing with, though Reddy acknowledges that he never thought about it while he was playing. “A cricketer will learn to make the best of whatever equipment he has to play with — it was only when I looked at gear from a design perspective that I realised things could be better,” he says. The weight and the bulk were the two broad areas where they felt there could be improvement.
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There have been incremental improvements to leg guards over the years, but the material and processes have more or less remained the same Moonwalkr, its innovators hope, will be the disruptor. Thus, though other leg guards are made using high-density foam and cane, with marginal use of plastic, Moonwalkrs are manufactured with a new composite, a highly reinforced plastic developed with the help of engineers in Germany. This has reduced the weight of the leg guard to 600 g (as opposed to the standard 1 kg) and the thickness by 50 per cent, they say. “Moonwalkr is also the slimmest cricket leg guard in the world, which is important because slimness defines your stride,” says Reddy who quit his engineering degree to pursue his interest in biodiversity and photography, before turning to product design.
Their product was selected for entrepreneurial incubation at National Institute of Design, and the two innovators went through some 40 prototypes over the course of a year. A pilot run of the leg guards took place last year, when it was used during the Indian Premier League matches by KB Arun Karthik and R Vinay Kumar of Royal Challengers Bangalore, as well as Ranji players KP Apanna, Abhimanyu Mithun and Abrar Kazi. The three affirmed that the leg guards were indeed much lighter than the ones they were used to. “They are really good — very light and their protection is quite good as well,” says Kazi. But he says he is yet to try them out in matches because they take a little getting used since they are quite different from other leg guards. Adds Appana, “They are definitely lighter and it helps you run faster. It feels like you’re not wearing leg guards.” He says he has been using only Moonwalkr leg guards this season. Krishna Vasist, also a former state cricketer who now handles Moonwalkr’s business development, says they have got pre-orders for 200 sets so far, and the leg guards are now available in retail stores in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Moonwalkr’s leg guards currently retail at Rs 2,999, which would be increased according to demand. In India, leg guards are available from Rs 700 for brands like SG and Rs 3,000 if you want the Australian brand, Kookaburra (endorsed by Ricky Ponting), to Rs 8,000-10,000 if you opt for a Morrant, used by Sachin Tendulkar.
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But even if Moonwalkr is the best cricket leg guard in the world, or at least a disruptor that will change the game, it will not be an easy task to market. For one, getting national and international players to endorse it is nearly impossible because even if they love the product, they would have been signed on by other brands and that would be a breach of contract.
So even though Reddy and Ajay say Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar have both tried it, liked it and even had their suggestions incorporated in the final product, they will not officially recommend it, unless Moonwalkr signs them on, just like the other big brands have done. The effects of this play out even in retail stores. “We can’t ignore the fact that players are huge influencers — retailer ask us which players are wearing the leg guards because customers will ask them,” says Reddy. “It’s tough because we don’t want to buy players, we’ve spent most of our budget on R&D — and this is not a me-too product. Our product is the celebrity,” he adds.
They hope to sell at least 10,000 pairs by 2014-15, and expand overseas as well, with a foray into South Africa, England and Australia. The company has raised seed capital from investor firm ADD Ventures and might look for more funding, depending on expansion plans.
They are also weighing the option of licensing the technology and co-branding for which they are in talks with Adidas, at the suggestion of Tendulkar. And they might eventually sign on a big player, if it comes down to the wire.
For the moment, though, the Moonwalkr team hopes the product will do the talking.
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CONVENTIONAL
Material: High density foam and cane
Weight: 1 kg
Advantage: A familiarity factor
MOONWALKR
Material: A highly reinforced plastic
Weight: 600 g
Advantage: Lighter and slimmer, thus allowing the player to run faster
Author
Topic: Moonwalkr Pads (Read 13190 times)