IPL 2025 has been nothing short of revolutionary. With each passing season, the game evolves—not just how it’s played, but in how it’s experienced. For us at Quidich Innovation Labs, this marked our fifth consecutive IPL season and a very important one. This year, the spotlight wasn’t just on the players, but also on the technology transforming the broadcast. As cricket becomes increasingly tactical and fast-paced, the need for deeper, real-time insights has never been greater.

Commentators and analysts speak of sharp captaincy and smart field settings, but much of that information is not fully understood by the viewers. While advancements in technology have provided commentators and viewers with deeper insights into batting and bowling tactics, the fielding aspect of the game has remained largely untapped. The subtle shifts, the preemptive moves, the dynamic field changes, they’re all happening, but not always seen or understood in the flow of the game.

Recognising this gap, we asked ourselves: what if fielding insights could be delivered to every viewer as seamlessly as every other aspect of the game? What if fans could follow the captain’s field strategy unfold in real-time? We saw this as more than just a challenge. It was an opportunity to bridge the gap between on-field tactics and the viewing experience. So we set out to develop a solution that could deliver real-time insights into fielding positions and strategies, without disrupting the live broadcast. 

Introducing “QT-Always Live”

We introduced the Quidich Tracker (QT), a groundbreaking technology tailored specifically for cricket for the ICC World Test Championship Final 2021. QT utilises real-time optical tracking to monitor player movements on the field, capturing and highlighting field changes often missed by traditional cameras. With its AI-powered Field Plot, QT seamlessly integrates into broadcasts, highlighting every move and position. 

Building on this foundation, we kept pushing the boundaries.

For the first time in IPL 2025, we unveiled the next evolution — Quidich Tracker: Always Live. Taking the core strengths of QT, we transformed it into a compact, real-time field plot overlay that constantly appears on the bottom left of your screen as the game unfolds. With QT Always Live, player positions and field changes are tracked seamlessly and integrated directly into the live feed, delivering uninterrupted, data-rich insights to viewers around the world, making sure no moment slips by and every move is part of the story. 

The Tech Behind the Tracker

Now you might be wondering how this kind of tech came to life. The technical process behind developing it remains confidential, but like every meaningful creation, there’s a story worth telling.

During the early ideation phase for this tech, our thinking centred around a simple yet powerful question: how can AI not just support data, but shape storytelling? What if fielding could become a narrative of its own? That’s where the concept of layering came in. Starting with a 2D plot to show initial gaps and positioning, and then transitioning to the original QT 3D plot that brings out the core narrative of fielding strategies. 

The journey of bringing QT Always Live to life began with a clear goal: to build a system capable of tracking every movement on the field,  live, as the game unfolds, without disrupting the flow of the broadcast. That meant designing tech that could keep up with the speed and unpredictability of a cricket match while delivering a smooth, real-time experience. No delays. No glitches. No missed moments.

After months of development, testing, and close collaboration with BCCI, QT Always Live made its debut at IPL 2025, one of the world’s most-watched cricket tournaments, seamlessly integrating into the high-stakes, fast-paced rhythm of a global broadcast.

Why Does It Matter?

Watch any over of any cricket match, and you’ll notice something subtle yet significant. Fielders shifting, positions tweaking, adjustments made by the captain almost ball by ball. These aren’t random moves. Each change is rooted in strategy, targeting a batter’s weakness, anticipating a shot, accounting for wind direction, or exploiting pitch behaviour. It’s the kind of chess match that plays out in real-time, often hidden in plain sight.

While commentators occasionally highlight these shifts, it’s not always easy for viewers to grasp the full picture. What’s the captain thinking? Why did the square leg move finer? What triggered a deep third to come up?

In a T20 game, every moment counts. So when a field change happens or a strategy unfolds, QT Always Live captures that moment instantly, translating the captain’s imagination into a visual story. It’s designed to capture all the imagination from a fan's perspective as well as the broadcaster's.

Bringing a new level of understanding to the game, QT Always Live makes it easier for lifelong fans or someone new to the game to follow the captain’s decisions and the thinking behind each field setting as it happens. It helps you see just how calculated every move on the field really is. The viewers are not just spectators of the game but a part of the action.

The Road Ahead

QT Always Live is just the beginning. As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in live sports production, our mission remains clear: make the viewing experience smarter, clearer, and more immersive for fans. Because we believe innovation matters most when it resonates with the audience it’s designed for.

Looking ahead, we’re exploring ways to tie fielding insights with batting and bowling analytics—creating a more complete picture of the game. Imagine understanding not just where a fielder stands, but why they’re placed there based on a bowler’s plan or a batter’s strengths. 

If you caught QT Always Live during the IPL, we want to know—did it enhance your viewing experience? What did you love? What could be better? Your feedback will help us shape what comes next. Survey

At Quidich, we’re constantly reimagining how fans experience sport. With every product we build and every new idea we test, we move one step closer to making the game more connected and bringing you closer to the action. 

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