HCL Tech-Cricket Australia deal: All you want to know

In a major announcement that should grab all cricket lovers' attention, it has been revealed through a statement that an Indian tech major has signed a deal with Cricket Australia. This comes in the middle of the ICC World Cup that is being currently contested fiercely in the UK - fortunately, Team India is cruising, especially after thrashing Pakistan. HCL Technologies today said that it has signed deal with Cricket Australia (CA) to deliver digital experiences to fans, players and employees. This is not an one-off, but a multi-year deal. However, HCL has not disclosed the financial details as yet. Michael Horton, Executive Vice President and Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand at HCL Technologies said, "We look forward to providing the Australian cricket community with leading-edge digital technologies that support real-time, engaging, personalised and unified experiences." He added that the company understands the importance of retaining and engaging fans in today's digital world.

Here is what it entails: 
1. Through Cricket Australia's digital offerings, HCL Technologies will help it to deliver an elevated and immersive digital experience to cricket fans, players, partners, employees, and volunteers around the world. . 
2. HCL Tech will also engineer a digital core ecosystem for CA through a composable platform that will be modular, auto-scalable, data-driven and experience-centric. 
3. Manage CA's suite of digital products, including properties such as the Cricket Australia Live App, cricket.Com.Au, bigbash.Com.Au and community cricket applications like MyCricket and community.Cricket.Com.Au.

How big is the Viewership?
In Australia, more than 2 million fans attend cricket matches during the 2018-19 season. Globally, cricket has a fan base of over 2.5 billion followers.

Digitally, CA has an online audience exceeding 20 million globally per year. 

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said, "The usage of these (digital) platforms continues to grow significantly, so partnering with a leading global technology provider to harness this growth and help us take advantage of our leading position is a natural next step," he added.