Organizers of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) are blazing a trail when it comes to embracing cutting edge technology and over the past week have deployed an AI-powered robotic dog that is fast growing in popularity among both players and fans. 

The mechanical camera-carrying canine, named Champak, is the latest addition to the league’s broadcast team and was introduced to the public before the Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 13.

Former New Zealand cricketer and commentator Danny Morrison formally introduced his new broadcast companion before demonstrating the IPL robot dog’s ability to run, jump, respond to various voice commands and even draw a heart shape with its front limbs.

The video clip, put out by the IPL’s social media handles, also shows Mumbai Indians’ players Hardik Pandya, Reece Topley and Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel interacting with the robot dog and having a blast.

The IPL also called on fans to help name the robot dog, which has been a regular part of the broadcast team in subsequent matches. Fan votes eventually saw the robotic canine named Champak.

During the Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings clash in Lucknow, MS Dhoni couldn’t resist a little fun with the robo-dog – playfully lifting it up and putting it down sideways, much to the crowd’s delight.

Known for his love of dogs, often seen in heart-warming moments with his own pets on social media, MS Dhoni later scooped up the mechanical pup and carried it off, probably for some extra playtime.

Covered in a brown fur-like print and fitted with a camera in place of a face, the robot is designed to offer dynamic, on-ground visuals from a dog’s eye view, bringing fans closer to the action in new and immersive ways.

Comparable to a GoPro-like action cameras, the robot dog enables unique broadcast angles along the sidelines and pitch perimeter.

The IPL robot dog draws clear inspiration from the quadrupeds designed by United States-based robotics company Boston Dynamics.

Similar quadrupeds have been deployed from military logistics to hazardous site inspections. The IPL’s version appears to be a small and playful adaptation.

Have you seen Champak yet?

For cricket fans across the country, tune in today, Monday April 22, to watch Lucknow Super Giants take on Delhi Capitals. The match starts at 5pm Kabul time. 

Ariana Television will broadcast the match live and exclusively across Afghanistan and hopefully Champak will once again be out of the field for fans to see. 

Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi on Saturday made history as the youngest ever IPL player at 14 years old after Rajasthan Royals brought him in as their impact substitute against Lucknow Super Giants.

Suryavanshi, a left-hand batsman, earned a deal in the lucrative T20 tournament after Rajasthan bought him for $130,500 in the November auction when he was still aged just 13.

At 14 years and 23 days, Suryavanshi easily beat the previous record for the IPL’s youngest debutant held by Prayas Ray Barman, who was 16 years and 157 days old when he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2019, AFP reported.

Suryavanshi was added as an impact player for the match at Rajasthan’s home in Jaipur after skipper Sanju Samson was ruled out due to injury.

The teenager then came out to open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal as Rajasthan sought to chase down 181, replacing medium-pace bowler Sandeep Sharma.

Suryavanshi made an instant impact when he smacked his first ball for a six — a flat-batted hit over the extra-cover boundary — off pace bowler Shardul Thakur.

The baby-faced Suryavanshi, called “Boss Baby” — a popular animated film — by the TV commentators, smashed 34 before being stumped off South African spinner Aiden Markram.

The youngster hit two fours and three sixes in his 20-ball knock and put on 85 runs for the first wicket with fellow left-hander Jaiswal, who has played 19 Tests for India.

Suryavanshi comes from India’s poorest state, Bihar, and his father is a farmer and part-time journalist, according to Indian media.

He is an explosive batter and rose to prominence with a 58-ball century in an Under-19 Test against Australia — the second fastest ton in youth Tests after England’s Moeen Ali, who hit 100 in 56 balls in 2005.

Suryavanshi made his domestic Ranji debut aged 12 in January last year.

Rajasthan coach Rahul Dravid was impressed by his trial in the net session prior to the auction and later said Suryavanshi has got “some really good skills”.

Sunday’s lineup

Sunday, April 20, once again delivers a thrilling double-header, which Ariana Television will broadcast live and exclusively in Afghanistan. 

First up will be Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore. This match starts at 2pm.

The second match of the day will see Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings at 5pm.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) created history in front of a roaring home crowd at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh on Tuesday with the lowest total successfully defended in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Defending 112, PBKS stunned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by bowling them out for 95 on the back of highly inspired spells from the IPL’s all-time leading wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal (4/28) and Marco Jansen (3/17).

KKR were cruising along at 62/2 in the chase before they lost eight wickets for 33 runs and were all out in the 16th over as Jansen cleaned up Andre Russell. 

The same fixture that saw PBKS recording the highest successful chase in IPL history when they chased down 262 in 2024, also produced one of the greatest low-scoring thrillers the league has ever seen.

Punjab are now fourth but join four other sides on eight points at the top of the table, while KKR are sixth.

Wednesday’s match

Today’s match – Wednesday April 16 – will see Delhi Capitals take on Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. In what is expected to be another thriller, fans in Afghanistan can tune in to Ariana Television to watch this match live from 5:30 pm.