IPL 2025: Mo Bobat, Dinesh Karthik delve into how to use data to influence decision making

The advent of technology has constantly reshaped sports, and teams have begun to pay close attention to data in a bid to gain an extra advantage over their opponents. Today, data analytics is the name of the game and has revolutionised how teams and athletes approach performance and strategy.

Mo Bobat, the Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, recently dissected the role of data and decision-making when he spoke at the recently concluded RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit Powered by Leaders. Bobat was in conversation with Isa Guha and RCB’s batting coach mentor Dinesh Karthik.

“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 if you can apply it to the moment. Executing your decision and how you follow through is very important. As a leader in sport, that's your core currency,” said Bobat.

Bobat, the former Performance Director of the English and Wales Cricket Board, continued that RCB majorly used data in two areas: recruitment and planning for performance. The Englishman elucidated how data was used when the team prepared for a game.

“Every time you go into a game, you're going to interrogate the information and the data in front of you, try and make sense of how you can expose the opposition’s weaknesses and make the most of your strengths and then review yourself against that after the match. And then, you go again,” he said.

He noted that one of the key concerns was how to interpret and use the data, especially when there is an abundance of it available at your fingertips. 

Also Read: AB de Villiers predicts IPL 2025 semi-finalists

“Not all decisions are the same. Take an auction for example, you might have six weeks to plan for an auction and a couple of weeks that would be intense. You can spend a lot of time going through quite a structured process. However, in-game decision-making is a lot harder, you don't have that same luxury of time. So, you have to think about how you want to make your decisions and what you’re guiding principles are. 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, it will always help decision-making improve,” added Bobat, who has worked as a consultant with RCB in the past.

Karthik, a swashbuckling batter and now RCB’s batting coach and mentor, delved into how he used data during his playing days. 

“Data is a very interesting concept that's been used since the advent of the IPL. It never used to be that much of a parameter pre-IPL because a lot of players used to use the word 'feel.' However, what data did show was 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 realised that they were hardly bowling to the areas I was strong at. 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.”