The AI war is heating up. China has unveiled its DeepSeek model that has got the world talking and it has created panic among similar developers in the USA. President Trump called it a wakeup call for American companies. Clearly AI will impact many aspects of our lives in ways that are difficult to foresee right now. But how will it affect sports?
AI-driven innovations are transforming all games, improving the way athletes train and perform. AI models can analyze each player’s performance on a variety of different fronts such as speed, running patterns and endurance. Coaches and players can use this information to make specific improvements for each individual athlete. AI can also create a personalized training plan for each individual and make a diet chart.
Anil Kumble’s views
Former India team skipper and coach Anil Kumble, who is widely regarded as one of the most well educated cricketers in recent times, is optimistic that increased levels of the use of AI in sport will raise the standard even further. He is also the founder of a body called Spektacom which aims to revolutionise the entire cricket ecosystem by using artificial intelligence.
“There are plenty of opportunities to progress further with the help of AI because cricket is a very statistic-driven sport. AI can be used in coaching, talent scouting, selection of players, and even formulate bowling tactics in specific situations,” Kumble said in an interview to the Times of India a few weeks ago.
“Use of AI in cricket will enable us to narrow down our choices to just a couple of variables instead of multiple choices as we face right now. To me that is the biggest challenge that coaches and players face right now. There are multiple choices and it is difficult to know which choice will be the best one. There is a lot of potential that has not yet been tapped and that is what AI will address,” said Kumble.
England women’s coach uses AI
Kumble is not the only one who is trying to improve the game with the use of AI. Recently the England women’s cricket team’s head coach Jon Lewis revealed how he is using AI as a tool for selection of his players and he credited the technology for the draw that England achieved against Australia in the last series.
Lewis is also the coach of the UP Warriorz team in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India. Explaining the method he said: “I can put multiple line-ups into the system and they run more than 250,000 simulations with this data to come up with the best combination.”
“We can also run simulated teams versus simulated opposition and see how those teams may match up against each other. I came across this model during my time in India and implemented it in England,” he said.
Pakistan also using AI
Another country that is trying to make headway with the use of AI is Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a unique AI driven approach for selections of players. After seeing Pakistan’s performance plummeting, the PCB began experimenting with AI tools to come up with a solution.
Recently the PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi revealed that the selection of players for Pakistan’s domestic events is being done with the help of AI systems. “We are hoping to strengthen our domestic cricket first and this will lead to better results in the international matches. Ultimately about 80 percent of the work will be done by AI and human involvement will be only about 20 percent,” said Naqvi.
Exciting new era blossoming
It seems like cricket is going to enter an exciting new era. In the next decade, the level of competition may increase further. Players and coaches will be able to tailor their approach perfectly to the need of the hour and there could be many more thrilling moments and close finishes. AI technology may take the game to greater heights.
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