Virender Sehwag's Multan Triple Hundred To AI: Ramki's Next Big Thing In Indian Sport

In March 2004, Virender Sehwag was seeking ways to regain form. Prior to going on India's tour to Pakistan, the bowlers on the other side were causing trouble for him, and he wanted to get back to his top-notch game. The answer to this came just ahead of the Multan Test. Subramanium Ramkrishnan provided Sehwag with a pivot that would prove to be instrumental in shaping his innings.

On March 29, 2004, Sehwag created history by scoring 309 runs in Multan, thus becoming the first Indian cricketer to score a Test triple century. Sehwag credited Ramki for being instrumental in helping him achieve this milestone.

Ramki (Subramanian Ramakrishnan) had joined the Indian Cricket Team as a Performance Analyst in 2003, thereby bringing Video Analysis into the Dressing Room, when many of the senior cricketers were hesitant to adopt the new method of analyzing the performance of the players. Ramki's efforts with Sehwag demonstrated the potential of Data and Technology in High-Performance Sport.

According to Ramki, one of the modifications that Ramki suggested to Sehwag was regarding the angle of Sehwag's stance. Ramki stated that Sehwag's stance angle had become approximately 30 degrees, thereby forcing him to crouch low at the crease. With this pivot, Sehwag was able to increase the angle to approximately 45 degrees, that enabled him to assume a more stable position.

In Multan, Sehwag completely destroyed the Pakistani bowling attack. The Sultan of Multan had arrived.

Ramki continues to work towards extending the type of intervention that he did with Sehwag beyond individual athletes. The CEO of SportsMechanics India Pvt Ltd has been instrumental in developing SportOS, a recently launched AI-powered, Agentic Platform that converts large volumes of Sports Data into Intelligent Actionable Insights for Athletes, Coaches, Selectors, and Administrators.

Ramki's Vision for SportOS is very ambitious: If what he did with Sehwag could enable a single batter to perform at his best, then with sufficient data and analysis, SportOS can enable thousands of athletes to perform at their best. "Sports Science combined with Data Science has now become the foundation for High-Performance. We built SportOS to enable the entire Indian Sports Ecosystem to win using Data," Ramki states.

SportOS commenced operations with the Asian Cricket Council. The intended scope is much broader than just Players and Coaches, extending to Administrators, National Sports Federations, and ultimately Fans.

From two decades of data to decisions SportsMechanics has worked in various sports such as Weightlifting, Boxing, Table Tennis, Athletics, and Hockey; however, Cricket remains the longest-term engagement for SportsMechanics.

Their 23 years' work in cricket has helped accumulate a substantial archive of Match Data and Video Data. "We have 20 years of Ball-by-Ball Data and 500TB of Video Data that we collected for Competitive Intelligence. We use this Data for Performance Analysis and Selection," says Ramki.

The primary objective is to transform this Archive Data (along with additional relevant Athlete Data) into Data-Driven Insights that can assist Decision-Making processes, rather than generating Additional Data. SportOS is designed to facilitate Performance Management across multiple domains: Game Strategy, Playbooks, Practice/Training, Strength & Conditioning, Nutrition, Sleep, Mental Conditioning, and Selection & Auctions.

Selection provides an excellent illustration of how SportOS can be utilised. Ramki cites Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return to the Indian Cricket Team after a four-year hiatus. Ramki asserts that Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Statistical Data made an indisputable case for his selection. "His boundary percentage at the death has decreased from 27% to 13.5%; his economy at the death has decreased from 12.06 to 8.27; and he is bowling short balls effectively,". These metrics allowed selectors to evaluate a Player's strengths/effectiveness beyond reputational factors and recent performances.

The Asian Cricket Council and Tamil Nadu Premier League have already implemented SportOS Data-Generation capabilities. The greater challenge for SportOS will be whether its insights translate into better decision-making across diverse Sports.

The accuracy test for AI despite the vast opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, its reliability remains a major concern in Sport. An erroneous output can skew a selection decision; a training program; or a tactical plan. "AI platforms tend to hallucinate. We have focused on ensuring that SportOS is extremely accurate so that stakeholders are never misguided," Ramki emphasies.

SportsMechanics has been operating at the Intersection of sport/technology for over two decades; including engagement with multiple IPL franchises; and work in Hockey. SportOS represents an attempt to incorporate this collective experience into a unified platform; with AI serving as the interface between complex data and people who need to utilize data.

Cricket with its extensive statistical records, well-established professional structures and commercial interest in innovation has enjoyed an advantage in adopting similar technologies. Olympic Sports in India, on the other hand face different challenges.

Can AI Shorten India's journey to the podium, is the next big question? Ramki believes AI can help reduce the time that is required to develop athletes; thereby lowering costs for Government.

Khelo India may serve as the first step to broader adoption. The long-term opportunity lies in connecting talent identification with athlete development

In 2004, data-driven analysis had helped Sehwag find an answer at the crease. Two decades later, Ramki's larger ambition is to enable such interventions at scale. For Indian sport, the real measure of SportOS will be in how it can enable more athletes to convert potential into performance.

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain Vs Argentina | Dani Olmo On WC Triumph: 'Wanted To Set An Example For The Next Generation'