How Data Helped Dinesh Karthik Change His Approach To The Game

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that data analysis has really grown big in the Indian Premier League. 

To make his claim realistic, he gave his own example of how, after a successful year in the IPL in 2022, he felt exposed the very next season, because the opposition were already too prepared to tackle him with the help of data. 

“Data did show that teams were better prepared and could expose you to your vulnerabilities a lot more as compared to attacking your strengths. I noticed it when I had a successful year, but when I came back the next season, I realized that they were hardly bowling in the areas I was strong in,” Karthik said during the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit.

“They started attacking my weaknesses a lot more. Thereon, after every season, I went back, looked at my videos and understood what needed to be improved,” added the now batting coach and mentor of RCB. 

Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket at RCB, was more vocal about how data is king in sports these days.

“My fascination is decision-making and having superior data, better data than anyone else, gives you a potential advantage for that. How you make sense of that information and data and how you follow through is very important. As a leader in sport, that's your core currency,” said Bobat.

But the Englishman, who also worked with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cautioned about the overuse of data and how to make the most of it by using your gut feeling as well. 

“It’s dangerous to assess your decision-making based on what's right or wrong or what works or doesn't work. It's not as binary as that. The balance between using the data or trusting your gut feeling at the moment, if you can strike it right, will always help decision-making improve,” Bobat added. 

RCB will start their IPL 2025 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which will also be the season opener.