A humorous addition to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season has been Champak, the robot dog. Introduced by global broadcast technology leader wTVision, the robot dog has provided a new essence to IPL coverage, as it can be seen engaging with players, staff, cheerleaders and fans during the matches. Having engaged with personalities like MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya already, Thursday was Champak’s turn to have a playful time with legendary former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar during the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Gavaskar, who is part of the IPL 2025 commentary panel, could be seen playing around with the robot dog ahead of the RCB-RR clash. Gavaskar and Champak engaged with hand gestures, before the robot dog followed the legendary opener around.
The robot dog has been equipped with a custom-built gimbal system to stabilize footage over uneven surfaces, as well as a pan-tilt mechanism and a video RF system. Enclosed within a 3D-print shell, the pet camera has now become a regular feature of IPL games.
Champak is now a regular presence at the toss time of each game, and also provides viewers a unique experience through its interaction with the biggest names in cricket during the IPL.
RCB vs RR, IPL 2025: As it happened
Following his side’s 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR), marking their first win at home in four matches, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar hailed his bowlers for showing courage during a tough target defence and added that his side has finally cracked the code to win at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB ended a three-match losing streak at home, with Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, and Josh Hazlewood being the star performers. They overcame a hungry and valiant RR, which slipped to its fifth successive loss despite all their efforts. Kojhli and Padikkal slammed half-centuries, while Hazlewood took four wickets.
After the match in the post-match presentation, Patidar said, “That was a much-needed win. Today, the wicket was different, and all credit goes to the bowlers after the 10th over. The way they showed courage was tremendous. Initially, they batted beautifully, and credit goes to them as well. We were searching for wickets, and when you get wickets, you can only stop runs. I always back my instincts first, but we have a team of great leaders, and their inputs help a lot. (Have they cracked the code to win at the Chinnaswamy?) Yes.”
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