At the centre of this shift is Kabuni, a platform that captures player movement and ball-tracking data before converting it into clear, actionable insights. Built around a \u2018one per cent improvement\u2019 philosophy, the technology focuses on small technical corrections that, over time, can produce significant gains in performance. By blending voice prompts, video analysis and visual cues, it aims to make elite-level coaching more accessible, particularly for young cricketers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing for me that\u2019s so exciting about the incredible technology they\u2019re building, harnessing the power of AI, is the ability to scale me and scale the knowledge I\u2019ve developed over the years of playing and now coaching,\u201d former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, who is appointed as the platform\u2019s \u2018Super Coach\u2019 told Sportstar<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought about this ever since I got into coaching. Whether I\u2019m working with a team or individuals, it\u2019s always limited to the time I have and the people within my orbit at that moment,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n
Bringing elite coaching within reach<\/b><\/p>\n
In his growing-up years, the former Australia international dreamt of training under some of the game\u2019s biggest names, something that rarely felt possible then. But with advances in technology, Watson believes that gap can finally be bridged.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me growing up, if I was in my teens, I would have loved to be coached by somebody like Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara or Viv Richards. But unless you are in their orbit, you never really get that opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Watson, who also works as an assitant coach at Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders, believes AI can democratise elite coaching by making high-level expertise accessible to aspiring cricketers around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty of Kabuni is that through AI technology, any boy or girl anywhere in the world can now have access to my philosophies and methods. The technology can identify technical deficiencies, and my digital twin can guide them through small adjustments, batting concepts and technical ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s an amazing opportunity to scale the knowledge I\u2019ve gained over the years and help as many boys and girls around the world as possible develop strong technical foundations. That\u2019s the beauty of Kabuni and why I\u2019m so excited to be involved. I love coaching and helping people get the best out of themselves, and now technology allows that to reach far more young cricketers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Can technology replace human touch?<\/b><\/p>\n
However, with coaching often rooted in instinct, human interaction and personal understanding, Watson was asked whether technology could truly replicate those nuances.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, you still need someone there facilitating the session \u2014 throwing balls, feeding the bowling machine or helping in the nets. But the real power lies in the technology\u2019s ability to identify small technical improvements ball by ball,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n
Drawing from his own playing days, Watson recalled how feedback once took days, sometimes weeks, to arrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was coming back from a stress fracture and working on my bowling with Dennis Lillee, he couldn\u2019t always be there in person. Back then, I would record videos, burn them onto a CD-ROM and send them across to him for feedback. Then I would work on those adjustments over the following weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is essentially a far more scalable and real-time version of that. A batter can play one shot in the nets and immediately receive feedback from my digital twin \u2014 maybe about their bottom hand gripping too tightly, or their head position, or their balance at the crease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watson believes such instant, simplified feedback could be especially valuable for young cricketers and parents without formal coaching backgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know from taking my son to the nets that there are plenty of dads trying to help their children improve, but they don\u2019t always know exactly what to look for. They\u2019re just encouraging that love for cricket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith something like this platform, the parent can focus on facilitating the session, while my digital twin provides immediate technical feedback. It helps young players understand the little nuances and adjustments they can make ball by ball to keep improving in a really simple but meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018AI will enhance coaching, not replace it\u2019<\/p>\n
But while AI may alter the delivery of coaching, Watson does not believe it will replace the essence of it. Instead, he sees technology as a powerful enhancer, one capable of expanding access to elite cricketing minds across the globe.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll, it won\u2019t redefine how I coach, for example. It will definitely from my personal perspective with me coaching, you know, the different people that I\u2019m coaching, you know, in person, it will mean I\u2019ve got technology to be able to give feedback like much quicker because of the video footage that\u2019s being able to be taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that\u2019s going to revolutionise coaching is the ability to be able to scale my knowledge, to be able to get my information and the other super coaches philosophies around technique and been able to give that feedback to, to as many boys and girls all around the world. So that\u2019s where it\u2019s going to really shift how coaching is done. You\u2019re going to be able to get access to the inside knowledge from some of the best coaches, the best, the best cricketers around the world, wherever you are around the world. So that\u2019s where things are going to shift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one-on-one coaching, the in-person coaching, that\u2019s just going to be enhanced, but the scalability for anyone around the world to be able to get access to, to AB de Villiers, myself, for example, that\u2019s where it\u2019s going to be game changing\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The next frontier: Mental performance<\/b><\/p>\n
With modern cricketers constantly switching between formats and enduring packed schedules, Watson also stressed the growing importance of mental conditioning alongside technical development.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as you work on your technical development and the technical side of you as a person in parallel, you need to be working on the mental side, the mental skill side of you as a performer as well, because you\u2019re absolutely spot on. That\u2019s as important because if your mental understanding, your mental skills are not where it needs to be, then you can\u2019t unlock your technical prowess that you\u2019ve got. And that\u2019s one thing that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been coaching. I, I do technical coaching, but one of the other things that I\u2019ve been doing over the last, gosh, seven or eight years is around mental performance coaching as well. And that\u2019s something that I\u2019m, that we are developing at the moment as well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a product that\u2019s going to come out hopefully pretty soon around mental performance coaching as well because that is a huge gap as well around being able to make sure that in parallel, once the technical development continues to improve and continues to be there, the mental performance improvement needs to be there as well, especially when people are playing so many games, they\u2019re going between formats.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut also just around performance, understanding and mental performance as well, because whether that\u2019s in the classroom, whether that\u2019s in other parts of your life where you are performing, understanding how to be able to get out of your own way, to be able to bring all the skills you\u2019ve got, is critically important as well. It\u2019s not just the cricket technical side of things,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s also the mental performance side of things that we\u2019re developing as well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Published on May 24, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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