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A startup presenting their cricket bat manufacturing business on 'Shark Tank India' has sparked controversy within Kashmir's bat manufacturing community. Kashmiri bat makers are upset with Sony Entertainment Televisions, accusing them of airing inaccurate information and are demanding an apology and compensation. On January 30, Saad and Hamad Tramboo of Tramboo Sports, hopeful entrepreneurs from Kashmir, pitched their business idea on Shark Tank India, focusing on making cricket bats from Kashmir willow. While the investors were impressed and the Tramboo brothers secured a Rs 30 lakh deal, Kashmir's bat manufacturers, who have been the backbone of the industry during tough times, are unhappy, claiming the show misrepresented Kashmir willow bats. Fawzul Kabir, spokesperson for the Cricket Bat Manufacturers Association of Kashmir (CBMAK), said, “This isn’t about Kashmiris versus others. Everyone is welcome in Kashmir’s bat manufacturing industry. However, we won’t allow anyone to discredit our industry.” Kabir accuses Sony Television of broadcasting falsehoods on its reality TV show and insists they must take responsibility for spreading misinformation and undermining the efforts of bat manufacturers. “They portrayed themselves as the exclusive Kashmir willow bat manufacturers, which is false. The factory they showed belongs to Alfa Sports, a member of our association,” Kabir explains. “Shark Tank India should have fact-checked before airing. Their unprofessionalism has hurt genuine players in Kashmir’s bat manufacturing industry. They need to correct this on the show and apologize for misleading viewers.” The Cricket Bat Manufacturers Association of Kashmir has sent a legal notice to Sony and the two Kashmiri participants. “The notice states that by claiming exclusivity in providing products to local and international markets, both Sony and the participants have misled the public,” the notice reads. “This has damaged the reputation of our indigenous industry.” “The misinformation about Kashmir willow cricket bats has harmed the industry,” Kabir says. “It has affected sales and tarnished the industry’s reputation, impacting over 15,000 directly involved individuals and more indirectly linked to the industry.” Saad Tramboo of Tramboo Sports counters, saying some manufacturers are misguiding the association. “The TV program was just an hour, and we mentioned we're not the sole manufacturers; there are around 300 others,” Saad said. “Our goal is to promote Kashmir willow globally. We discussed that first, followed by Tramboo Sports.” Saad clarified that Tramboo Sports doesn’t own a manufacturing unit but works with multiple manufacturers. “We source bats from 5-6 facilities. We used footage of Alfa Sports’ manufacturing facility with their permission. They're one of our several third-party manufacturers,” he explained.