Meerut produces roughly half of India's sports goods — cricket bats, boxing gloves, footballs, hockey sticks, martial arts equipment, and much else — in a cluster of small workshops and factories concentrated in the industrial areas along and around Hapur Road in the eastern part of the city. This is one of the genuine industrial curiosities of Uttar Pradesh, and visiting the market area gives a fascinating look at how a global supply chain operates at its production end.
The main market area for finished goods is accessible to visitors without any special permission. You can watch craftsmen at work in small open workshops, buy equipment directly from manufacturers at prices far below retail, and get a sense of how much skilled handwork still goes into products that compete globally on price. Cricket bats in particular are still largely handmade. Some larger manufacturers offer informal factory visits if approached directly; ask at the market. Best visited on a weekday morning when the workshops are active.