4 most creative batsmen of the modern game

Budding cricketers are always taught to hit the ball with a straight bat, to get the body behind the ball and to maintain right balance and body posture. These are the pillars of batting on which many successful careers were built.

The time when fast bowling has been injected with heavy doses of variations and spinners have become a mystery to solve for the batsmen, creativity in batting becomes imperative in order to make the bowlers think.

Gone are the days when respecting good deliveries was a part of batting rulebook. Those were the days when a score of 200 in ODIs was considered just par. But the game has changed drastically over last decade or two and scores of 200 are sometimes not enough, even in T20Is. Achieving such scores at such a rapid rate require batsmen to be creative in order to hit even the good balls for runs.

As a result of this need for creativity in batting, many interesting shots have been developed, which makes the game of cricket even more entertaining and exhilarating. After crawling through my mental database I have come up with 4 such cricketers who have impressed one and all with their innovative batting style.

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#4 Jos Buttler - England

Jos Buttler plays the ramp shot very well

The innovative and explosive wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has become one of the most crucial members of the England batting lineup in limited overs cricket. Buttler has an innate sense of angles and uses it to perfection while batting. Carving out the ball pitched on leg stump line and hitting it over covers using his ultra-flexible and steel-like strong wrists is a trait rarely seen in English players. Buttler has mastered the modern-day shots - switch hit, reverse sweep and the ramp shot.

Confidently dancing down the wicket to spinners and the ability to play them with ease and grace makes him a very dangerous player. Buttler waltzed into the international scene during England's Champion's trophy campaign 2013 where he played a crucial role in finishing the innings with his hard-hitting and creative thinking.

He scored his maiden ODI century against Sri Lanka at home, off just 61 deliveries characterized by power hitting. Since then Buttler has never looked back and has become a vital member in England's limited overs setup. He has also had an extremely successful IPL career with over 1000 runs in 37 matches.

It is Buttler's steep growth in batting skillset after playing the IPL that prompted the English Cricket Board to send more English players to play in IPL.

#3 Brendon McCullum - New Zealand

Brendon McCullum can play the scoop shot of fast bowlers

A freewheeling batting style, fast hands, sharp eyes and an aggressive intent is what defines Brendon McCullum. McCullum's batting is as creative as his hairstyles and tattoos. Taking a leisurely walk down the pitch and hitting it straight over the bowler's head, bludgeoning short balls with pull shots and playing a shuffle-and-scoop shot is what McCullum loves doing.

McCullum was picked up by KKR for his explosive batting in limited overs cricket for a whopping $700,000 in the inaugural IPL auction. In the first match itself, he proved his worth when he scored an awe-inspiring knock of 158* against RCB that included 13 mammoth sixes.

With the advent of T20 cricket, McCullum added a few cheeky shots in his armory and rocketed to 1000 runs in T20 internationals becoming the first to reach this milestone. The Kiwi star also became the first player to score two T20I centuries.

He consistently kept scoring runs for New Zealand in all three formats. The year 2014 was the most memorable one for McCullum as he was awarded 'The New Zealand cricketer of the year 2014'. He became the first New Zealand cricketer to score a triple ton in Tests. He also scored a few double tons at an unbelievable strike rate. Apart from being a great batsman, he was also a razor-sharp wicket-keeper.

#2 Tillakaratne Dilshan - Sri Lanka

Dilshan invented the 'Dilscoop'

The fearless Sri Lankan opener Dilshan took the reins from the legend Sanath Jayasuriya and was quick to make an impact with his firepower batting. He was given the license to go after the bowling right from ball one and he never disappointed getting the Lankans off to flier more often than not.

Dilshan did go through a rough patch during 2007-2008 and was pushed down the order and ultimately out of the team. But the gritty Dilshan made a stellar comeback.

He was at the peak of his batting form in IPL 2009 scoring over 400 runs in 13 innings. This was the time when Dilshan unveiled his trademark 'Dilscoop' in order to hit the full pitch and relatively straight deliveries over the keeper and short fine leg fielder.

He continued batting well and played the most crucial role in Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup success in June 2009 where the Lankans reached the finals but lost to Pakistan. Dilshan was adjudged the Man of the Series for being the leading run scorer.

He was also instrumental in Sri Lanka's success in World Cup 2011 scoring over 500 runs in 9 games at a lightning strike rate. Apart from being a creative batsman, he was also a very handy bowler.

#1 AB de Villiers - South Africa

AB de Villiers is the most creative batsman

Unarguably the most creative batsman to ever play the game of cricket, AB de Villiers retired recently from all forms of international cricket but left behind tons of memories filled with unbelievable shots and superhuman fielding efforts. Fondly named Mr. 360 degree, the humble destroyer had the ability to hit any bowler to any part of the ground with shots that defied the laws of physics on many occasions.

The fan following that AB enjoyed in South Africa and across the world especially in India where he played and rocked in the cricket fest - IPL, is a result of his flamboyant batting style. With numerous records against his name, one that stands out is the fastest ODI 100 that he scored off an astonishing 31 deliveries against the hapless West Indian bowling lineup.

AB de Villiers was a team man and always played as the situation demanded. A rather unusual knock of 33 off 220 balls in the Adelaide test against Australia in 2012-13 to save the game is a testimony to the fact that AB has supreme control over his mind and can curb his natural instincts for the team.

He played 114 tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is with a remarkable batting average of over 50 in ODIs and Tests.