Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 30 : Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), opened up about the role of data and technology in cricket, stating that it plays a crucial role in scouting.
Bobat was speaking on the RCB Podcast.
In the podcast, as quoted by an RCB press release, Bobat said, "We are very fortunate that Bangalore is an academic and tech superpower, so it is great to have that on our doorstep. We all know that data is becoming central to sport, especially cricket, which is already data-rich."
"What we are trying to do with data is not just focus on numbers but on decision-making. If we can make data-informed decisions, that is really useful. A phrase I often use is 'data on tap, not data on top.' Data should drive what we do, but intuition is still important. When we generate questions, we should have data to help inform our judgments and decisions, and that's the way cricket is evolving."
"Technology plays a huge role, particularly in scouting. Scouting is just one way we identify players, and we have a great team doing that. But there are other ways too, like artificial intelligence, which can help us spot attributes that might otherwise go unnoticed--things like raw pace in fast bowlers or revolutions on the ball for spinners. When we find players who are above average in those areas, we have to pay attention," he continued.
Bobat also mentioned that understanding a player as a person is important because surviving international cricket requires handling a lot of pressure and scrutiny.
"It takes a certain type of individual--someone robust--to deal with that. So, it's not just about data and tech, and it is not just about subjectivity either. Finding the right balance is crucial. I think it is exciting what RCB has done with internet scouting. It has helped us improve in the past, and I believe it will continue to help us moving forward," he concluded.
RCB will be aiming to secure their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy this year. In the previous season, they made it to the playoffs despite winning just one game in the first half of the tournament.
SQUAD
Batters: Virat Kohli (retained), Rajat Patidar (retained), Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara
Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma
Allrounders: Liam Livingstone (spin), Krunal Pandya (spin), Swapnil Singh (spin), Romario Shepherd (pace), Jacob Bethell (spin), Mohit Rathee (spin)
Spinners: Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh
Fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal (retained), Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi.