by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
Mysore :
Majority of budding cricketers aspire to represent their respective State and National sides. On being unable to fulfil their dreams, they choose to get into other professions and continue playing cricket for fun. But not many choose to be associated with cricket as umpires, scorers or video analysts.
Mysore city has been contributing quality cricketers to the State team who have made a mark for themselves. Likewise there are also cricket umpires in city who have been officiating in State-level matches and scorers who have been executing their work at Ranji and National-level.
Apart from umpires and scorers, there are others who work behind the scene for the smooth conduct of the game. They are those without whom decision making would be difficult for the on-field umpires and the third umpire in cricket. For every referral from the on-field umpires, the video of the ongoing match has to be retrieved within 30 seconds for the third umpire to make a decision. This is the job of the video analysts.
They also provide videos for the umpires, coaches and players with the total analysis of the match. Video Analysts mark each and every ball delivered by the bowlers and also the balls hit by the batsmen. Every decision made by the on field umpires is recorded and later submitted to the tournament organisers for review.
Mysore city is home for two youngsters who work as video analysts for the matches organised by both Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Meet Sharath Narasimhan and S. Sachidanand, the duo who have been a part of the 5-member video analysts’ team in the State who are recognised as video analysts by the BCCI.
While Sharath has been working at Wipro in Bangalore as Quality Manager, Sachidanand works as Team Lead with Theorem India Private Limited in Mysore. Both are seen working together during BCCI tournaments held in Mysore.
Currently, Sharath and Sachidanand have been working for NCA Inter-Zonal U-19 Tournament being held in Gangothri Glades and SJCE Cricket Ground in city.
Sachidanand started as a video analyst in the year 2007 while working for Swantha Solutions now Sporting Minds owned by former Indian Cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj. Later, he qualified to work as video analyst for KSCA and BCCI and since then he has been a part of the team in State.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Sachidanand said that the experience as a video analyst had been good as he had an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the best in the sport.
Sachidanand, who is a product of Jai Hind Cricket Club, mentioned that he had worked for Rajasthan Royals as a back-end video analyst and also for Mangalore United, the KPL franchise.
When asked about the reason him taking up video analysis, Sachidanand said that it was due to the passion he had towards the game.
Sharath Narasimhan, a product of RBN Cricket Club, has also been working as a video analyst since three-and-a-half years. Sharath is also the BCCI qualified senior video analyst. He has worked for six Ranji matches and India A vs West Indies A four-day match held in Mysore.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Sharath said that working as a video analyst was a good opportunity to interact with umpires, coaches and players.
“Being a video analyst is no easy game. One has been to constantly upgrading himself with the developing technologies and also be sharp and active throughout the game. This apart, a person has to be passionate about the game and be dedicated to work in any situation”, said Sharath.
Video Analysts in-charge of the control room during the match. Their job starts right from the installation of cameras and cables to provide video recording to the umpires, coaches and players for their reviews after the matches.
Sharath and Sachidanand are a part of 120 video analysts in India who aim to reach greater heights.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / June 20th, 2014