In a bold move for the future of cricket, Rajasthan Royals have announced str8bat as their Skilling Partner for the IPL Season 2025. With this, Royals become the first Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise to integrate AI and deep tech across all facets of their ecosystem for player development and match preparation.
Cricket and Cutting-Edge Technology
This partnership is built on the universal ambition—to use technology not just to train cricketers, but to reshape the very essence of the game. str8bat’s camera-free, IoT-enabled cricket bat sensor records the smallest details of a batter’s play — from bat speed and backlift angle to sweet spot percentage and shot timing. The Success of Great Training Coached by the Numbers Coaches can now create custom training modules tailored to each and every athlete’s individual needs, offering surgical precision training.
The Royals’ Goal: A Learning Mind‐Set
Alok Chitre, Chief Business Officer of the Rajasthan Royals, spoke about the significance of this partnership:
What makes this partnership so valuable is the state-of-the-art technology, but more importantly, how well it ties into our ethos of ‘always learning’ and pushing the boundaries of performance. “We are on a mission to transform market analysis, product development, and people management across the world’s leading B2B organizations, and we’re doing it with cutting-edge tools and an org unlike any other.”
This match between innovation and cricketing philosophy is to enable the Royals’ pursuit of their philosophy of excellence—excellence that translates to a success unlike others.
Real-Time, Actionable Feedback—A Coach’s Dream
Vikram Rathour, the Royals’ batting coach, underscored the role played by the Str8bat sensor in practice:
“Str8bat’s real-time, data-driven insights enable us to identify micro improvements in technique and form, but they also enable us to develop macro strategies that move right from the nets to live matches. It’s not simply about improving a shot — it’s about changing an entire player’s game.”
This move toward tech-enabled strategies and performance management, he said, represents “a Moneyball moment” in cricket, referring to the data revolution that transformed baseball scouting and player coaching.
str8bat, The New-Age Talent Identification & Training Pathway
From trials to tournaments, the Str8Bat sensor has now become an integral part of the Royals ecosystem. All batters that are going through trials at the club’s scouting camps are tested with it, thus forming a standardized and objective talent assessment scheme. These revelations now shape everything from player acquisition and auction strategies to pathways for skill development.
Gagan Daga, co-founder and CEO of Str8bat, said, “We are thrilled to be associated with Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath and excited for him to be joining us as part of the company.
“Being named the official Skilling Partner of Rajasthan Royal is indeed a big feather in the cap for str8bat. What separated RR from the rest was their readiness to embrace data as the centerpiece of their cricketing philosophy. Our tech doesn’t just increase performance—it changes the way performance is measured, managed, and improved.
The Democratization of Elite Training Tools
While this association demonstrates Str8bat’s presence at the peak of the cricket world, it doesn’t just make waves in the professional arena. The device is now becoming much more than a trickle-down tool among grassroots cricketers, academies, and national boards, offering “average” cricketers the sort of information and insight once exclusive to elite athletes.
“We’re inventing a new language in cricket — one built around objective measures and deep-tech,” Daga said. “At the Royals, we’re not just helping players train better—we’re transforming how talent gets discovered, developed, and promoted.” *
Why This Collaboration Matters
In a time when the difference between a single ball, shot, or decision can mean winning or losing a match, nothing is more crucial than real-time information and actionable data. This association between Rajasthan Royals and str8bat is more than just a partnership—it is a statement of intent. It is the future of cricket: smart, data-driven, and deeply personalized.
About str8bat
str8bat is a sports-tech company using AI + camera-less bat sensors to help cricketers analyze their batting performance scientifically. The device records important data, including bat swing, impact timing, backlift, sweet spot utilization, and more. It links to the Str8bat mobile app using Bluetooth and allows players to view 360-degree 3D replays of their shots, monitor their progress, and share data with their coaches or friends.
Where to Buy
The str8bat Cricket Bat Sensor is available for purchase at:
Amazon India—Buy here
str8bat.com—Official Website
Final Thoughts
As we get into the 2025 version of the IPL season, these Royals from Rajasthan don’t want to be just fearsome on the field; they want to be trailblazers in the world of cricket. The partnership for the Str8Bat is a window into the future of cricket— where data meets intuition, and performance is sped by precision.
But if you’re a budding cricketer, a coach who is keen on making sure the bowler always gets better, or just a fan, this is one revolution to watch — and perhaps even to be a part of.
