Ghanshyam Patidar from Vadodara ingeniously crafted his very own bowling machine at home a decade ago, driven by his son’s passion for Cricket and his duty as that of a parent. Patidar embarked on this venture to ensure his son’s batting practice wouldn’t suffer due to the unaffordable market prices of bowling machines.
Reflecting on those days, Patidar spoke of taking days to grasp the functioning of a bowling machine, and in doing so, he immersed himself in studying the mechanics of bowling machines before deciding to build one himself.
Working with his son, the dynamic duo set out to create a manually operated bowling machine employing a catapult mechanism. Patidar, who had relocated from Madhya Pradesh to Vadodara to nurture his son’s cricketing aspirations, attached an iron staircase to a Y-shaped iron bar fitted with stretchable rubber tubes. This clever modification provided the thrower with height while reducing strain on the arms. This worked wonders as it enabled his son to practice his batting for hours. It also significantly improved his shots and timing. Patidar contemplated on enhancing the machine further. He had been studying mechanized bowling machines and eventually developed his own electronic version.
The electronic machine empowered batsmen to practice autonomously. Following numerous trials and errors, Patidar successfully created his own bowling machine. Remarkably, it cost him less than half the price of market alternatives while delivering equivalent performance. He spoke of IPL players also utilizing these machines for their training sessions.
Patidar’s son, who is currently a member of the Under-23 team, continues to refine his skills on the machine created by his father. He said that he has spent years practicing on the bowling machine, which helped refine his technique; from the comfort of his home.
