Cricket for all, all for cricket: How AI can help sport

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Cricket for all, all for cricket: How AI can help sport

Enter Algobat, a high-performance, affordable, AI-enabled, and algorithm-optimised bat set to soon roll out.

By Vicky Kapur (From the Executive Editor's desk)

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Published: Wed 17 Jul 2019, 8:00 PM

Last updated: Thu 18 Jul 2019, 5:31 PM

My bat, my rules! For those of us who grew up in a middle-income family, there is no denying the fact that owning a good cricket bat came with its set of perks. Even if your utility in the team was less than the worth of a raincoat in mid-summer Dubai, there was no chance that you'd not be 'selected' in the playing XI. Cricket balls were dime-a-dozen. You could use rubber, cork, even tennis balls if the leather ones weren't available, but you'd need a decent bat, preferably two, if you were to execute a good game.
And never mind that you batted like Curtly Ambrose, you'd get to open the innings a la Sunil Gavaskar or Aamer Sohail if it was you who brought the bat. Which meant that if the game stopped after someone's six smashed a glass window in the neighbourhood or there was general fracas owing to a controversial run-out decision (which happened more often than not), you'd have already had your stint at the stumps. Plus, if you knew the trick of mixing blackmail with audacity, you could even get to bat twice. The point is that a good cricket bat is integral to the game, and given the cost of a bat, it's a luxury not everyone can afford, especially for those who're serious about making a career in the game. A professional cricket bat made of English willow, for instance, can set you back by Dh3,000 or more depending on the quality of willow, brand, etc.
Enter Algobat, a high-performance, affordable, AI-enabled, and algorithm-optimised bat set to soon roll out from the labs of Canada's University of British Columbia. The bat, not unlike the ones used by your favourite batsman, will have the power to hit the ball harder and further but that'll be on the back of computer modelling. This will optimise its geometry, making up for the fact that the Algobat will be made of alternative material like Kashmiri willow and will, therefore, be available for as little as Dh110-Dh150. Even as the kit isn't going to be available right off the bat, so to speak, it'll surely be worth the wait.
 


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