After 25 years of developing the much-appreciated VJD method, V Jayadevan, a civil engineer who worked at the irrigation department in Thrissur, received his deserving remuneration from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) this February.
VJD method is a way of calculating target scores if a cricket match is interrupted by rain. While the Duckworth-Lewis method is used to set winning targets in international matches that are disrupted by rain, the BCCI in 1998 decided to adopt VJD method for domestic cricket. Even after so many years of taking the decision to adopt the method for domestic cricket, BCCI failed to pay a deserving payment to Jayadevan, who passionately followed the game and constantly worked towards improving his method.
"I actually did the programming to teach a BTech student. Since I was interested in cricket, I took the problem to find the target score in cricket when the play is interrupted by rain. But as my interest in the subject grew, the final output came out to be the best. I made many attempts to bring the method to the notice of BCCI. It was Sunil Gavaskar who finally understood its merits and assured to take it forward," Jayadevan told TNIE. When BCCI adopted the method in domestic cricket, Jayadevan was given a small remuneration, which he used for developing a better version of the software.
In 2010, after various rounds of discussions, it was planned to use VJD method in Indian Premier League. But due to some internal issues, the plan didn't materialise. "At present, I am collaborating with a Bengaluru-based company Sportec India Private Ltd and led by BCCI umpire Keshav Kolle. We are working on adapting the technique to Android phones and IOS so that it will become more user-friendly," he added.
Considering the contribution made by Jayadevan, BCCI made a one-time payment. Jayadevan said he would continue discussions with IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, BCCI and others to explore the possibilities of utilising VJD method in IPL tournaments also. It is learnt that some members of IPL governing council were against the method saying that since international players were also participating in IPL, it wouldn't be fair to adopt VJD, which is an Indian version.
Jayadevan took VRS from his job in 2013 and worked as a visiting lecturer at Vidya Academy of Science and Technology. During Covid, he ended it and started developing the Android version of VJD method.
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Duckworth-Lewis vs VJD
Duckworth-Lewis and VJD use statistical methods to calculate the target score of a team based on the number of overs faced and the number of wickets lost.
In Duckworth-Lewis system, it is assumed that a team's scoring rate accelerates as overs progress.
In VJD method, it is assumed that scoring rate becomes faster during the first fifteen overs during field restrictions, then decreases in middle overs, and then again accelerates in the final overs.
Duckworth-Lewis uses a single set of curves while VJD method uses two different curves- the normal curve and the target curve