Debasis Sen, London: The ensuing ICC Champions Trophy will see revolutionary developments in terms of technology. For the first time ever cricket bats will have chips installed in them. With the International Cricket Council (ICC) naming Intel as its Innovation Partner for the upcoming tournament starting fromJune 1 in England, the tournament is being considered as the first ever “Smart Cricket Tournament.” As part of its continuous drive to use the next wave of powerful technologies, Intel will transform the cricket experience for fans, and help coaches and players improve performance.
ICC has already placed an emphasis on innovation and technology around players from all eight teams, match officials and supporters watching at home and in the stadiums.
As a part of the continuous process of technological developments, players’ movement will be tracked by cameras and the data collected and analysed. Each participating teams will have three players batting with specialised bats with chipsets. From India, opener Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin will be using these types of bats in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Recently, the National Football League (NFL) had planned to put micro-chips in all footballs for the 2017 season. The league already puts chips on every player’s shoulder pads for the Next Gen Stats, and having chips in footballs allows teams to track everything from how fast a quarterback throws a football to how well a defensive back moves toward the ball while it’s in the air.
Apart from the use of chipsets, there will be hawk-eye cameras installed in all the three venues: The Oval, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens. A Spidercam will also be used, accompanied by drone cameras utilised for the first time.
Team sheets will be signed and submitted via tablet and HD wi-fi is available in each stadium for fans.
Tournament director Steve Elworthy said: ‘I think it probably is up there [as the first Smart Cricket tournament]. Everything we’ve done when we’ve sat down and planned this, we say “Smart” immediately you jump a technology solution for it.