BatSense: Revolutionising the art of batting

Over the years, the game of cricket has undergone startling transformations, whether it be the enhanced equipment on offer or the better infrastructure for players and fans alike.

A few years ago, LED stumps and bails were brought into the fold and that has improved the experience of the onlookers whereas it has also enabled the quality of the game to go up a notch, courtesy the assistance it provides to the umpires in tight predicaments.

Thus, so far, technology has only aided the pursuit of the sport to become as spotless as possible, an endeavour that faces an arduous climb to become fool-proof.

Recently though, Smartcricket.com has attempted to redefine the game and provide a better learning curve for cricketers and coaches, thereby enabling an environment where both could grow and fine-tune their performance.

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Smartcricket.com's product BatSense aims to blend data analytics with raw performances and serve up a thorough examination of whatever transpires on the field.

The technology can be used by fixing a Puck, that weighs between 15-25grams on the bat handle, thereby allowing it to record the requisite data. The Puck enables several facets to be highlighted, especially considering those are often overlooked when trying to fix a batsman’s technique.

BatSense technology is in line to revolutionise batting forever The Puck which can be attached to the bat handle

Also, BatSense is dovetailed with the Smartcricket.com App, meaning that a drill-down analysis is available to the cricketer instantly. There are three primary methods by which the data could be analysed.

Firstly, there exists a Smart Video feature which captures the finer details of the shot right from the back lift to just a few seconds after the shot has been played. Furthermore, there is a ‘compare’ option which allows the cricketer to look at two shots together and derive what went wrong in each case.

Additionally, there is an Avatar 3D Mode which is a 3D rendition of each shot that is played in a session. This feature enables the 360-degree analysis of a shot and creates an animation depicting the bat trajectory of the entire stroke. It also displays key parameters associated with the shot such as Bat Speed, Back Lift Angle, Impact Time, Follow Through Angle, and Blade Angle.

Moreover, there is a Shot Parameters feature which takes into account 10 key aspects before zeroing in on the Shot Efficiency of a particular shot. Among those parameters, one has the Backlift angle, Maximum Bat Speed, Bat speed at Impact, the Follow Through Angle and the Bat Swing Angle.

The SmartCricket App has a lot of exciting features

While the Follow Through Angle and the Bat Swing Angle looks at the angle generated with the bat being held vertically & Horizontally during the Rotation at Impact, follow through and the bat swing respectively, the Maximum Bat Speed concerns itself with the maximum speed of the bat achieved during the process of playing a stroke.

Apart from the above, there is another feature namely the Rotation at Impact which depicts the angle of rotation around the handle of the bat at the point of impact with the ball. This is the wrist motion which determines if the bat face was open or closed and to what degree at the time of impact with the ball.

On the other hand, Speed At Impact denotes the speed of the bat when it comes in contact with the ball.

However, that’s not all as there exist several other parameters that help in the detailed analysis the technology provides. The others include Impact Time, Average Speed, Bat Start Angle, Blade Angle and Impact Angle.

Also, there is a Calendar feature that ensures that all the data is stored day-wise or month-wise whereas the Session mode allows a person to rate a particular passage of play according to the performance stats.

Also, there is a separate Goal Setting mode which gives players the option to set goals for themselves based on the myriad parameters and consequently, see if they’ve exceeded their targets or have fallen short.

The final feature is the Match Mode, wherein one can capture performance data even when the sensor is not actively connected to the Smart Cricket app. In this mode, the sensor continues to gather shot parameters, which can later be viewed once it is synced with the Smart Cricket app.

In the Coach Mode, the player and coach can be connected even if the coach is sitting anywhere. He can watch player practice session live and his entire calendar. There are various benefits accruing to the coach as well as he/she can set individual goals for performance enhancement, provide the batter with tips, compare a particular batsman’s performance with that of other players, create personal and customised coaching programs and most importantly, the coach can pick his side based on the skill and form of the players.

The technology has so far earned rave reviews for its novelty and Smartcricket.com, in consonance with Intel, look set to take the world by storm. Priced at INR 8721, the enhancement isn’t too exorbitantly priced, especially when considering the numerous elements it brings to the plate.

Additionally, after its debut in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the BatSense technology seems primed to make further ripples, with players of the ilk of David Warner, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Veda Krishnamurthy giving positive reviews about the same.

Thus, one can expect the art of batting to scale a higher peak in the upcoming years and one reckons that BatSense and Smartcricket.com could have an enormous part in that.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 witnessed the launch of the first-ever smart wearable product for cricket, via SmartCricket.com’s BatSense. Soon, they also plan to roll out a suite of products that will truly redefine the relationship between data and sport. It also plans to introduce a range of products, namely GLOVESENSE, HELMETSENSE, PADSENSE, BALLSENSE and SHOESENSE.

Additionally, it also has chalked out a plan to immerse itself into several other sports such as Golf, Baseball, Badminton, Tennis, Football, Hockey, Volleyball.

Moreover, the ICC and SmartCricket.com have joined hands, meaning that the latter is the only company involved in such technologies to have been approved by the ICC to help improve the game as a spectacle.

And, the company is competently led by Mr Atul Srivastava, who is the founder of SmartCricket.com. His relationship with cricket started back in 2005 when he was in charge of sports management agency, Gaames Unlimited. He is an entrepreneur par excellence and his inventive ideas have led to the creation of such a technology which has revolutionised the game and change the way the sport has been played, watched and analysed.

His vision is to bring the best of Wearable Technology & DataAnalytics to Sport and using the Internet of Things and Wearable Technology to create a Data-driven Ecosystem. He also believes in Leveraging Technology and Gamification to bridge the gap between potential and actual performance.

He has been ably supported by Mr Karan M Pai, who is the Chief Operating Officer of SmartCricket.com. Mr Karan has been part of many corporate wellness programs and specializes in Organisational Employee Assessments and Improvements. He is also a former National-level Basketball player. He has also successfully published a book, called “Unsaid 50” available worldwide online.

Here is the video of how BatSense is set to change the art of batting once and for all!