International Cricket Council (ICC) has named tech giant Intel as the Innovation Partner for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to begin from June 2017. ICC has announced the collaboration with an aim to drive the use of powerful technologies to redefine the cricket watching experience for fans as well as upgrade the performance of players and coaches. However, not many details of the tie-up have been announced and ICC will release more information on specific innovations to be deployed at the tournament in the near future. Intel, on its part, will likely use technologies like virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in a bid to get innovations to ICC Champions Trophy 2017, and make it a ‘smart cricket tournament’.
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, “The innovations we’re working with Intel on for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 are like nothing we’ve seen in the sport before and I’m delighted to welcome them to the ICC family.” With the new partnership, it is expected that the game of cricket will become smarter as it always has, with the advent of newer technologies. Apart from an improvement in the viewing and fan experience, it is also expected that the performance of players will improve with increased efficiency. With more intelligent technology incorporated into the game, it is expected that cricket as we know it, will become more transparent too.
James Carwana, general manager of the Intel Sports Group said, “Cricket is the world’s second most popular sport and as the official Innovation Partner of the ICC Champions Trophy, we are excited to integrate Intel technology in this tournament.” He added, “We will be deploying a range of technology at the event as part of our ongoing effort to bring a new level of data analytics to sports and to revolutionise how athletes train, coaches teach, scouts evaluate talent and fans enjoy sports.”
A Topend Sports report suggested that cricket, with over 2.5 billion fans globally, is currently the 2nd most popular sport. The report cites data from Most Popular Sports, where it says that the game has a regional popularity in Asia, Australia and UK. Meanwhile, ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be held in England and Wales from June 1 to June 18.
