The backdrop!
It is the 5th day of the test match. India requires 328 runs and Australia needs 10 wickets to win this game. The match is being played at one of Australia’s favorite grounds, The Gabba. The commentators, press, statisticians, and everyone with an ounce of interest in cricket have pointed out that statistics suggest that no visiting team has beaten Australia on this ground in the last 32 years! Those following along on Cricinfo found themselves digging into more statistics around the highest score chased at Gabba amongst others. People watching the game on TV were fed information about the weather, the pitch conditions, and any and every data point which added to the suspense. Will it rain later in the evening? Will the pitch throw any surprises? More statistics, more predictions, and therefore, more intrigue. The bowlers come prepared to bowl that 4th stump line to Pujara. They have watched videos after videos and have been told to bowl a certain line to each batsman. Data and statistics have enabled bowlers and batsmen to prepare for the game in ways that weren’t possible a few years back. Pant scores a boundary and takes India to a famous victory against Australia in their own backyard.
Now, you might wonder why I chose to recount this game of cricket in this blog- no reason actually :). It was an example I took because cricket is a religion in India and though there have been many classics played in the history of Indian cricket, this game would rank among one of the finest and one which would be spoken about for years to come. However, a key narrative in this game or any other is the story that is told by the data and statistics. In cricket, for example, we as viewers are no longer presented with just the basic data points i.e., the average, strike rate, and highest score of a batter. We also see their strengths and weaknesses, their favorite scoring areas, for that matter even their off-field interests like favorite restaurants, favorite songs, etc are part of the show. Similarly, the players and coaches don’t just talk about what they did and how they did it but also why, when, where, and evaluate their game plan execution.
There has been a big role played by data and statistics in shaping a viewer’s experience or an athlete’s preparation for the game but there is a lot of unfulfilled potential for insight generation in the golden data set that every game generates today. We, at Taproots.ai, have a thing or two to contribute to this space.
The birth!
Games like the one at Gabba are every athlete’s dream independent of their level of skill. We have all grown up dreaming of that moment when we hit a last ball six, hit that down the line forehand winner for the championship, score that injury-time goal, or just clinched victory from the jaws of defeat but how many of us have been able to live that dream?
Perhaps like a vast majority of people reading this, the co-founding team of Taproots.ai has a similar story. We never really understood our independent sporting levels in the sports we took up and there were no tools or mechanisms in place which allowed us to measure our skills on a common scale. Those of us who attended summer camps and went to sports academies were given feedback which was generally verbatim and not always recorded for future reference. These assessments were both technical and also non-technical, with aspects of professionalism, physical conditioning, or nutrition being among the many to follow through on. While this was invaluable, there weren’t any objective and data-based benchmarks to measure ourselves against.
Taproots.ai was conceptualized to address this problem. We want to be of service to every athlete or enthusiast alike, independent of their current level, to be the best version of themselves, and also to aid the coaches in their quest to improve their players. On our platform, the analysis will not be a mere statement, it will be backed by tangible data and recommendations on how one can improve to achieve their true potential. No matter which stage of your playing journey you are at, our comprehensive and integrated platform will provide you with everything it takes to continually improve and reach your goal.
A quote by Arnold Edinborough comes to mind- “Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me curiosity killed the cat, I can only say the cat died nobly”. Every single sport today has access to a massive amount of data that is waiting to be interpreted for the consumer’s (athlete, coach, broadcasters, media, general public) benefit. If you’d like to know more about what we do and how our platform operates or have any queries, please feel free to reach out to us at https://taproots.ai/contactus and also subscribe to our newsletter.