Mahesh Ranshube – The man behind Dhoni’s round-shaped bat

Ranshube, a.k.a Chintu, has been repairing bats for the last three years.

Batsmen are particularly selective about the intricacies of their bats. Any sportsperson, for that matter, is possessive about the tools which bring him success and fame. And Mahesh Ranshube, a Pune based bat repairer, has been helping batsmen in designing their wood as per their needs for the last three years. Mahesh played cricket for long, as he said in an interview to Sportswallah, but turned to bat repairing, where he’s not only earning well, but is rooted to the game of cricket as well.

Ranshube, more commonly known as Chintu, has repaired bats for many national and international cricket stars. Some of these names include Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes, Kedar Jadhav and Joe Root, among others.

After Sachin Tendulkar’s story about heavy bats led to a wide range of opinions among the masses, many fans have taken deep interest in the art of bat-making. Fans want to know the type and quality of bats their star players use.

In his interview to Sportswallah, Mahesh revealed bat-preferences of India’s star wicketkeeper and former batsman, MS Dhoni.

Mahesh said that Dhoni preferred the toe-end of the bat to be curved. A curve-shaped bat helps in keeping it safe from fast incoming yorkers, which may crack the grain of the bat.

Mahesh also repaired the bat of England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes during the 2017 IPL season. Seven days after receiving an improved bat, Stokes scored a terrific 103 against Gujarat Lions.

“Chintu”, as he is affectionately called, doesn’t charge a single penny from Indian cricketers. He believes that they represent the country, and they are his seniors, and so it would be unwise to take money from them.