IPL on, Ludhiana hosiery units set to rake in moolah

Trying to cash in on the IPL season, owners of Ludhiana-based hosiery units are eyeing bulk orders for promotional T-shirts. One of them, JK Narang Hosiery, has already taken the lead by bagging an order for 15,000 T-shirts for Mumbai Indians.

"We have 60 workers working round the clock to deliver the order placed by Reliance Trends," said Mohinder Narang, owner of JK Narang Hosiery.

Iyash Jeina, chief manager, Reliance Trends, said they were expecting more orders from Mumbai Indians because customised T-shirts of key players were much in demand, as witnessed last year. "We are planning to place orders for customised T-shirts of Sachin Tendulkar, Kieron Pollard and Richard Levi," said Jeina.

These T-shirts, carrying a price tag of Rs 400-600, will be put up for sale at Reliance Trends showrooms and the stalls at IPL venues.

JK Narang Hosiery has been making T-shirts bearing the logo of Mumbai Indians with "Tendulkar-10" printed on them. The firm has been supplying T-shirts for IPL for the past two years. "Last year we had supplied 60,000 T-shirts, and this time we are banking on more orders for customised T-shirts of star performers," said Narang.

Other hosiery units are also vying for orders from other IPL teams. "We have supplied T-shirts in all previous IPL seasons, but due to a change in the management of the company, we have not been able to get orders this time. Nonetheless, we are still optimistic," said Arun Dhand of Ankita International, another city-based hosiery unit.

"Some units have received orders for the IPL, while others are still negotiating the deal," said Knitwear Club president Vinod Thapar.