For decades, serious cricketers have relied on coaches, instinct and countless hours in the nets to improve their game. But a Singapore-based sports technology company believes the future of cricket development lies in artificial intelligence, computer vision and real-time analytics.
That vision has become reality through Level Up Cricket, an AI-powered analytics application developed by Singapore start-up Level Up Sportslytics. Founded by cricket enthusiast and technology professional Sitanshu Dash, the platform aims to bring professional-grade performance analysis to everyday cricketers, helping them understand and improve every aspect of their batting and bowling.
The system combines multiple high-speed cameras, AI-powered ball tracking and biomechanics to generate instant reports after every net session. Instead of simply recording videos, it provides detailed insights including bowling speed, ball trajectory, shoulder and hip rotation, pitch maps, wagon wheels, delivery accuracy and even potential injury risks.
For Sitanshu, the idea was born out of personal frustration.
“I’ve been playing cricket all my life, but stopped when I entered the workforce,” he said. “When Covid hit, I returned to the game much more seriously and realised just how much my technique had deteriorated. Traditional net sessions had taken me as far as they could. Without data, my game had reached a ceiling.”
Searching for a solution proved futile.
“I wanted one app that could record every delivery, tell me how fast I was bowling, generate a pitch map, produce wagon wheels and highlight flaws in my technique. It simply didn’t exist.”
Instead of waiting for someone else to create it, Sitanshu decided to build it himself.
The journey began with self-learning. He immersed himself in computer vision technology, experimented with code and used his own GoPro cameras – along with borrowed equipment from friends – to capture cricket sessions and train early AI models.
From those modest beginnings, Level Up gradually assembled a specialist team with expertise in artificial intelligence, computer vision and hardware engineering. Together, they built proprietary computer vision models trained on thousands of hours of cricket footage recorded across different lighting conditions, pitch surfaces and camera angles.
One of the biggest technical challenges was tracking a cricket ball travelling at high speed using commercially viable cameras instead of expensive broadcast systems.
The team also had to design weatherproof hardware capable of surviving direct impacts from cricket balls.
Years of research eventually paid off.
The company recently secured a patent covering its core computer vision technology and the sophisticated integration between its hardware and software, placing it among the few sports AI companies in the region with proprietary intellectual property.
Unlike conventional cricket apps that depend on a smartphone mounted behind the stumps, Level Up employs four dedicated cameras operating at 100 frames per second.
This produces a complete 360-degree view of every delivery.
Players can review their batting and bowling from multiple camera angles, watch slow-motion replays and receive instant analytics directly on their smartphones through the Level Up Cricket app.
For coaches, the platform offers another significant advantage.
On busy practice evenings, coaches often struggle to observe every player in detail. The application records every delivery, allowing sessions to be reviewed later without missing technical flaws.
Perhaps the platform’s most innovative feature is Gameface, which transforms ordinary net practice into a realistic match simulation.
The system recreates field placements, advises bowlers where to position fielders and identifies precisely where batters are getting dismissed. By simulating genuine match situations, players can identify weaknesses and correct them much faster than through conventional practice alone.
Sitanshu believes this significantly shortens the learning curve.
“Every session feels like an actual match, helping players remove technical flaws from their muscle memory much more quickly,” he said.
Level Up Sportslytics was incorporated in Singapore in 2021 and continues to operate its headquarters here, while maintaining an offshore development centre in India.
Sitanshu credits Singapore’s innovation ecosystem and supportive cricket community for giving the company the foundation to grow.
His own professional career spans nearly 15 years in enterprise marketing, CRM and data analytics, having worked with multinational organisations including Adobe and Standard Chartered Bank before combining his expertise in analytics with his lifelong passion for cricket.
The company currently employs 11 people and is backed by six investors. Recent additions to its leadership include co-founder Abilash Haridass, who is helping drive the company’s commercial expansion.
Level Up is already operational at two Singapore venues – the Singapore Cricket Club at the Padang for members and The Cage in Kallang, where members of the public can book AI-assisted net sessions. Promotional sessions currently cost S$10 an hour.
Early feedback has been encouraging.
David Bennett, director of the Singapore Cricket Club Academy, described the system as an invaluable coaching tool.
“It aids our coaching. Everything – the videos, multiple camera angles and performance statistics – is available in one place. The students are loving it, and it is helping us take our coaching to the next level,” he said.
Head coach Tim McMahon said the combination of multiple camera angles and biomechanical analysis has transformed player development.
“The players love seeing how fast they’re bowling or how hard they’re hitting the ball. The quality of the video and biomechanics has been a huge help from day one,” he said.
Local-level cricketer Vishwa Karunadu said: “This is a much-needed app for cricketing skills improvement. It records batting/bowling videos and provides quick feedback, helping me to correct and improve my game.”
Innovation, Sitanshu insists, remains continuous.
The company’s AI models are constantly being refined based on customer feedback and ongoing research, with new features being rolled out regularly.
International expansion is also underway, with a new facility in Virginia in the United States launching this month, entry into the United Kingdom market scheduled for July, and a seed funding round supporting further growth across India and Southeast Asia.
For Sitanshu, however, the mission extends beyond technology.
His ambition is to democratise elite-level cricket analytics, ensuring aspiring cricketers – whether professionals or weekend enthusiasts – have access to the same quality of performance insights once reserved only for international teams.
