How AI Is Revolutionizing T20 Cricket Simulations: The Rise Of T20 International SRL
Following every match and every move isn’t enough for die-hard sports fans; they also want to enjoy matches that have never happened and, perhaps, never will. Simulated reality leagues (SRLs) are a pretty recent development in the online sports betting world. Still, the idea of creating fictitious games based on real-life players and statistics is older than the Internet. However, digital technologies have brought those games to an entirely new level.
SRL is the young and tech-savvy brother of traditional fantasy sports, which started in the 1920s using cards to emulate baseball matches. Fantasy sports still exist today; they’re widely popular and fundamentally different from SRL. However, arguably, both concepts stem from the same desire to create (or recreate) matches at will. The key difference here is that SRLs allow fans to actually watch the games.
Typically, SRLs are based on top-flight tournaments. Football fans can enjoy options like the English Premier League, the Serie A, the Bundesliga, and others. Cricket simulations are mostly based on T20 competitions, such as the IPL, a huge success among Indian fans. However, a new AI-powered trend is rising in this niche: T20 international srl. Learn more about it here.
Entertainment In The Age Of Information
For those who are unfamiliar with SRL matches, they look very much like video game simulations where a computer controls both sides. Such computers are very powerful, creating entirely simulated matches that punters can watch “live” and bet on, just like in real-life events. Better still, graphics are comparable to high-level consoles, creating a nearly cinematic experience like the ones provided at Sportsbet.io.
However, it takes more than splashy graphics and real-life names to create a realistic emulation of a cricket match. Indeed, it takes a lot of technology to crunch a huge load of data regarding individual players, courts, and weather conditions to come up with a simulation that actually looks real. The great news is that it’s no longer a problem: powerful AI-backed algorithms can do it in a split second.
Still, this data must come from somewhere. As it turns out, cold, hard numbers aren’t enough to bring up the subtlety of the movements of each player, and how the ball travels across the court when they hit it. Luckily for everyone involved, computing sciences have been part of cricket events since 2001, when the Hawk-Eye technology was tested for the first time.
Those who follow cricket matches have probably noticed computer-generated lines showing the speed and trajectory of balls; that’s Hawk-Eye technology right there. In fact, this system can track and predict the trajectory of a ball with an incredible precision of 5mm. So, when the first AI and machine learning algorithms joined the game, they already had a lavish source of information.
Going International
Cricket fans are already familiar with SRL versions of the Indian Premier League. Still, there are international options, like the Australian Big Bash League, the Pakistan Super League, New Zealand’s Big Smash League, and the T20 International. Indeed, nearly all major T20 leagues have simulated reality versions.
Cricket is one of the most-watched sports worldwide, second only to football. Even though the sport is only popular in former British colonies, it has a global fan base of over 2.5 billion people. Meanwhile, the online sports betting industry has largely outgrown in-person sports betting, accounting for 60% of its multi-billion dollar revenue.
Most SRLs harvest data from the past 200 matches, updating it at every new game. More refined algorithms consider pitch conditions, wind, and even subjective aspects like team chemistry.
Understanding The Format
Typically, simulated reality leagues are based on a slightly shorter version of the game’s most dynamic format, T20 or Twenty20. Real-life T20 matches last about three hours, including time for interruptions and breaks. Virtual players don’t need to rest, so SRL matches are more compact; in most cases, they last about 120 minutes. Still, each side has one innings of 20 overs.
T20 is the sport’s most condensed and fast-paced version, perfectly suitable for commercial live broadcasts and, of course, for simulated reality leagues. Unsurprisingly, T20 has become the most popular and the most watched cricket format worldwide. The first official match played by T20 rules happened in 2003 when the England and Wales Cricket Board implemented the format in a competition involving English county teams.
The first international competition came in 2007 with the ICC T20 World Cup. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) adopted the new rules, creating the Indian Premier League in 2008. IPL’s roaring success in India (which translated into new and lucrative business opportunities) soon inspired other T20 national leagues across cricket-loving countries.
AI – Where Fantasy And Reality Meet
Fans no longer need to wait for a real-life event to watch top-quality cricket. Indeed, SRL matches are the closest they can get to an actual match. More than stats-backed numbers on the screen, punters can see every game move and enjoy in-play betting options like a live match. Indeed, that’s much more than any fantasy league can offer.
While highly realistic match simulations mean more entertainment for cricket lovers, they have also become strategic tools for coaches and athletes. It’s easy to understand why: the same systems that recreate bowling speeds and trajectories can also provide valuable feedback to them.
Such tools help them track players’ performances, health conditions, and technical points to improve. Additionally, collective strategies can be tested risk-free in sophisticated simulators that vividly recreate the opponent’s performance against each of them. AI-backed software is paired with VR headsets in more advanced training centers to create virtual training sessions against simulated batsmen and bowlers.
The Future Of SRL Cricket
SRL international cricket is gaining traction worldwide, and given its potential fan base, it has a promising future ahead. Simulators can create even more vivid virtual experiences as AI and machine learning algorithms improve. More importantly, such algorithms can learn from previous mistakes and disparaged simulations, automatically adjusting their numbers to more lifelike results.
The online sports betting industry is gruesomely competitive, where adapting quickly to new technologies isn’t an edge but a matter of survival. Virtual and augmented reality experiences are already available to cricket fans. For instance, an AR glass can provide real-time statistics of live matches while people watch the game. However, AR glasses aren’t always necessary to enjoy augmented reality features on the go.
The always innovative Indian Premier League launched a mobile app during the 2019 season, allowing spectators to read updated players’ stats just by pointing their phones at them, a feature that the Kolkata Knight Riders explored extensively during their home games. The audience gave very positive feedback, as the future made matches more informative and entertaining. Similar features were available during the 2019 ICC World Cup.
In 2021, it was VR’s turn to shake the cricket world with 360-degree live broadcasts of IPL events. For the first time, VR-equipped viewers could watch a live game as if they were in the stadium, getting different angles of the action as their heads moved around. However, cheeky VR experiments were already taking place in 2020, when viewers could face an emulation of the legendary fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in a crowd-roaring stadium.
VR is the latest buzzword in immersive experiences, offering unparalleled interaction with users’ surroundings. It used to be a pretty expensive technology, but prices have dropped considerably in the past few years due to market competition between companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon.
Likewise, AR glasses are becoming more affordable, and the widespread ownership of smartphones ensures that even those who don’t have AR glasses can still enjoy some pretty entertaining features. Some platforms already offer VR/AR sports betting options (mostly in the Metaverse), and both options could soon be available to SRL cricket as well.
Neverending Adrenaline
There’s no such thing as off-season with SRL cricket. The next ICC T20 World Cup is still far away, scheduled for February 2026. Yet, there’s no shortage of SRL versions of the most iconic T20 competition worldwide, based on the most recent stats of the best players in the sport. SRL cricket is next-level entertainment for those who can’t wait for the next match.
As new technologies emerge, the experience gets more immersive, engaging, and lifelike, with sharper AI algorithms, jaw-dropping graphics, and various interactive features. Indeed, AI-backed technologies have become indispensable for this industry.
