SportsPosted at: Oct 14 2026 3:55PM


Parthiv Patel turns to AI to democratise cricket, target grassroots talent

Bengaluru, Oct 14 (UNI) In a game where access to quality coaching, performance analytics and talent scouts can make a decisive difference, former India cricketer Parthiv Patel is turning to artificial intelligence to help level the playing field for aspiring cricketers, particularly those beyond the professional circuit.
Patel has teamed up with entrepreneurs Kunal Abhishek and Shamik Datta to launch SportzEngage, a Bengaluru-based cricket intelligence platform that aims to make advanced performance analysis accessible to players at every level, beginning with grassroots academies where resources are often limited.
The venture's first application, CRiQ, uses AI-powered video analysis, personalised feedback and continuous performance tracking to help cricketers identify weaknesses, assess their performance and work towards improvement.
The underlying premise is that a young player's development should not depend solely on access to an elite academy, an experienced coach or the attention of a talent scout.
“Talent shouldn't depend on who happens to be watching. That's the problem we set out to solve,” Patel, co-founder of SportzEngage, said while announcing the venture on social media on Wednesday.
Drawing on his experience as an international cricketer, captain, talent scout and coach with Indian Premier League franchises Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans, Patel said he had seen how fragmented information and the limitations of individual observation could affect player assessment.
At the highest levels of cricket, players typically have access to specialist coaches, analysts, video technology and detailed performance data. A promising teenager at a small academy may have none of these resources, creating an uneven playing field in both player development and talent identification.
SportzEngage aims to bridge this gap by developing a unified intelligence platform connecting player development, talent discovery and match analysis.
Unlike a generic video-analysis tool, the company says it is building proprietary computer vision models specifically designed for cricket, with the aim of translating footage into actionable performance insights.
“What makes cricket such an interesting problem is that off-the-shelf computer vision models simply don't work. We've built our proprietary models specifically for cricket,” said Shamik Datta, co-founder, who will lead the development of the AI platform.
Patel, however, sees technology as an aid to coaching rather than a substitute for human expertise.
“The best coach will always beat AI. But the best coach using AI will beat the best coach not using AI,” he said, underlining the venture's focus on combining technological insights with coaching experience and judgement.
Kunal Abhishek, an IIM Calcutta alumnus, will lead business and product development, while Datta, an IIT Bombay graduate, will oversee the technology platform.
The company's longer-term plans include expanding into talent intelligence and live match intelligence, with capabilities such as advanced ball tracking and match analytics for domestic competitions, leagues and broadcasters that may not have access to such systems.
If successful, the approach could widen access to data-driven cricket training while giving coaches additional tools to assess performance and helping promising players attract attention beyond their immediate sporting networks.
For Patel, the ambition extends beyond building a technology business to changing how cricketing potential is identified and nurtured.
“I believe AI can democratise access to cricket intelligence and make the quality of insight available to a young player far less dependent on where they come from or who is coaching them,” he said.
The larger test for SportzEngage will be whether its technology can deliver reliable, affordable and useful insights at grassroots level, where the promise of AI-assisted cricket development could have its greatest impact.
UNI BDN
Tags: #Parthiv Patel turns to AI to democratise cricket# target grassroots talent
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