Growing up in Indiranagar, A R Srikkanth, a cycled to different venues in search of a game of cricket much like every other enthusiast from the 90s.
And like most, his full-time project of youth turned to an oft-neglected hobby in adulthood. Working in a 9 to 5 job as human resource personnel for a software company, dreams of cricket began to wane. Even his stint with BUCC - one of the most prestigious cricket clubs in the city - did not assure continuation. He was at a crossroad.
Cricket didn’t provide many career options, but a desk job didn’t offer anything exciting. That's when he leapt into the unknown sea of cricket analytics. A decade and some later, he is the head analyst for Cricket West Indies and is the most sought after scout/ analyst in franchise cricket.
If you still have trouble placing him, look back at any Indian Premier League auction from 2011, and you will see him seated at the Kolkata Knight Riders’ table - a stout character with a dense beard and an expression suggesting ‘he means business’.
“I realised analytics was something I was good at so I joined Sports Mechanics in 2008,” says the St Joseph’s College graduate. “It was a gamble because I was getting paid very well, but I trusted my instincts on this one. A month after joining, I was asked to work as an analyst for the New Zealand ‘A’ team, who were touring India. This was through Sports Mechanics. That same year, I was asked to handle analytics for Kolkata.”
Analytics wasn’t a big part of cricket at the time. Players got their information from managers and others on the staff on the basis of need. Information wasn’t readily available because although there was an abundance of data, few had the patience to simplify it and make it relevant. Basically, if you wanted specific information about an opponent, your search would be nought.
Enter a man from little-known Eastwood High School.
Not only did Srikkanth make information easier to digest and more player specific, but he also began establishing himself as a scout by injecting KKR with then-obscure talent and now household names such as Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav.
It was reason enough for franchises in the Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League look to him for answers, sometimes to establish batting and bowling orders too.
For example: “…a team owner in the BPL, I wasn’t even working for them at the time, asked me to suggest a name for a fast bowler for their team. I told him to consider Jofra Archer. At the time, no one knew him. Look at him now,” says Srikkanth, who gave Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan his big break in the BPL.
“After all these years, and my track record, people trust me. More importantly, I trust my instincts. I don’t rely too much on analytics when I am picking players. It’s about body language and certain intangibles, I can’t quite explain. I get a feeling, I trust it and I take responsibility, irrespective of the outcome.”
Having delivered quantitatively and qualitatively, it was only a matter of time before the national team would look for his services. The offer came from Rahul Johri, the then CEO of BCCI, when Anil Kumble was in charge of the Indian team. “Johri asked me to talk to Virat (Kohli) about it. Basically, it would seem like I was going to them for a job. I wasn’t okay with that. I turned it down,” he reveals.
Late last year Kieron Pollard offered him a deal on behalf of CWI, and this time, Srikkanth had no reason to turn down the offer. Speaking about his role with CWI, Srikkanth, who wasn't able to join the team in England for the Tests because of the pandemic and resultant flight cancellations, said: “I don’t really have scouting duties. I mainly handle analytics, and it is so much easier to handle international cricket than it is to work on franchise cricket. In franchise cricket, the parameters change every day. Unlike a bilateral series where you know the players in question and you know that’s unchanged for a few games, in franchise cricket, you have to look at a different set of stats every single night."