IPL is the second most valuable league in the world. It is celebrated like a festival across the country for six weeks. The broadcasters happily paid eye-watering sums of money to get the rights to cover the extravaganza.

When the stakes are that high, the broadcasters are not shy to make heavy investments in order to ensure that decisions are correct, while also enhancing the experience of the viewers.

Broadcast of a tournament of the magnitude of IPL involves a lot of technologies which an average viewer might not even notice. In this article, we will cover 10 technologies which are used in IPL currently or might be used in future.

1. Dolby Atmos

Almost every household in India has a cricket fan, but it is not possible for all the fans to cheer their favourite cricketers in the stadium. Thanks to the Star Sports’ investment in the Dolby Atmos, a TV viewer can feel closer to the stadium.

This technology has the ability to produce sounds of 100+ objects simultaneously to give much higher sound quality than the fans had ever experienced before.

The aim of Star Sports is to give a stadium-like experience to the viewers in the comfort of their homes. This game-changing technology’s ability to point the sound to the exact point will go a long way to achieve the vision.

2.Real-Time Analytics

As the T20 format has captured the imagination of fans across the world, we have also seen the rise of data analytics. In the last few years, the investment of teams in data analytics has steadily increased.

Coaches and captains are leveraging the insights generated from data crunching to decide the match-ups and take decisions on the field. The wave of data analytics hasn’t left the minds of fans untouched.

As the fans understand the importance of data analytics, there are more conversations regarding the same among the viewers. To help the fans get informed about the numbers, broadcasters are sharing real-time data with the viewers.

3. LED Stumps and Bails

Cricket is played over a stadium which is more than 1 acre in size, but sometimes the matches are decided by millimetres. In close matches, stumpings and run-outs can change the course of the game.

Earlier, when run-outs came down to photo frames, it was difficult to adjudge if the bails have been completely dislodged. Thanks to this new technology, the bails light up as soon as they come off the groove.

This technology has improved the accuracy of runout and stumping decisions. Along with making the lives of umpires easier, it has also enhanced the viewing experience as watching the bails light up is a sight to behold.

3. Speed Gun

Speed Gun might be one of the oldest technologies on the list. It was the device, which finally enabled the fans and analysts to quantify the pace of the bowlers. It helps us to separate the medium pacers from the genuine pacers.

Contrary to popular belief the wind conditions don’t impact the readings on the speed gun as the whole process works on microwave technology. The most impressive thing is that margin of error is less than 1 kilometre per hour.

Currently, Shoaib Akhtar has clocked the highest speed on the speed gun, hitting the 100 miles landmark. It would be worth seeing if someone else can clock 100 miles or above in the speed gun in the IPL.

4. BuggyQam

Like Speed Gun, which was borrowed from Tennis, Buggy Qam is another innovation that was borrowed by cricket. This technology was previously used in Athletics, so that camera can race alongside the athletes.

The advantage of the system is that due to the wheels, it can move around the ground to give a different view of the ground as well as the players.

The version used in IPL allows for smooth movement even at low angles. The state of art camera system eliminates any kind of jitter even at the maximum zoom.

6. 360° Cameras

When an all-time great like Virat Kohli hits a cover drive, you can’t get tired of watching that shot over and over again. A viewer would want to get as many views of the shot as possible, with as many angles as possible.

Thankfully IPL has got you covered with 360 degrees cameras, which give you a 360-degree view of every action on the field. This technology was introduced to the audience in the 2021 edition of the IPL.

This particular technology is certainly not cheap on the pocket as 100 cameras around the stadium have to be installed. The iconic shots of Kohli's cover drive, Rohit's pull shot etc. do make the investment worth it.

7. SpiderCam

The Spidercam is a cable-suspended camera system which enables film and television cameras to move both vertically and horizontally over a predetermined area, typically the playing field of a sporting event such as a cricket pitch, football field or a tennis court. The name Spidercam is a trademark. The Spidercam system is modeled after Skycam, which preceded it, having been invented in the United States in 1984.