In a first for Indian sports and tech media, PlayVerse Technologies, a Bangalore-based sports-tech startup, has launched AIKash — an AI-powered sports commentator that delivers real-time cricket commentary in Hinglish, infused with emotion, humor, and local flavor.
The launch comes just weeks before the 2025 ICC Cricket World Cup, aiming to bring a new dimension to how Indian fans experience live matches, especially on digital platforms.
“We wanted to blend India’s passion for cricket with cutting-edge generative AI,” said Sanjay Nambiar, CEO and co-founder of PlayVerse. “AIKash is not just a bot — he reacts to wickets, celebrates sixes, and even cracks the occasional dad joke.”
How AIKash Works:
Trained on over 10,000 hours of Indian cricket commentary and sportscasting data, AIKash uses a neural TTS engine, emotion tagging, and a real-time match feed API to generate natural-sounding audio that responds to live action.
Features include:
Hinglish Commentary: Switches between Hindi and English seamlessly.
Mood Modulation: More excitement for boundaries, tension for close calls.
Player Backstories: Offers bite-sized facts about cricketers mid-game.
Regional Language Rollout: Tamil, Bengali, and Marathi support coming by Q4 2025.
The AIKash interface is currently available via a web app, with smart TV and OTT integrations expected soon. PlayVerse is in talks with two major Indian streaming platforms for potential collaboration.
Why This Matters:
India’s digital-first sports audience is booming, with over 325 million fans watching matches on smartphones. Many prefer a more relatable, language-inclusive, and energetic form of commentary. AIKash is designed to fill that gap — and scale it.
“For tier-2 and tier-3 audiences, Hinglish isn’t just a convenience — it’s a connection,” noted Aarti Mahajan, a linguistics researcher at IIIT-Hyderabad who consulted on the project.
Beyond cricket, PlayVerse plans to adapt AIKash for kabaddi, football, and even esports by 2026. The long-term vision includes hyper-personalized commentary, where users can choose their tone — dramatic, witty, or even nostalgic.
The beta version is live now at aikash.live, and open for user feedback. Sport meets code — and India’s fans are about to hear the difference.