Top 5 left-handed batsmen in cricket today

Left handers are always a treat to watch, be it Brian Lara’s sublime style of batting or the destructive pair of former Aussie openers, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden or, not to forget, our very own Ganguly, king of the off-side. The presence of left handed batsmen provides an all new dimension to the art of batting, which is dominated by the right handers. Though genuine left-handers are a bit hard to find in today’s cricket, there are some,who are either potential game changers or have been the mainstay of their batting order. Let us look at the top 5 left handed batsmen in today’s cricket .

5. Graeme Smith: The South African opener has been one of the best openers in modern cricket and has been serving the South African cricket team for the last decade. With more than 8000 runs in test cricket and about 6500 runs in ODI’s, he does have a pretty good batting record. Though he has been hampered by injuries for the past year, he has been a consistent performer throughout his career.

4. Chris Gayle: The dashing West Indian opener is one of the most destructive openers today, especially in the shortest format of the game, wherein he literally scores centuries at will. Ask any of the bowlers today, they know this better. Though he has been short of international cricket for some time recently, he has showed that his T20 form can be converted to international, by immediately making an impact in the recent series against New Zealand. Everyone has high expectations from him to perform well for his team in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

3. Shivnarine Chanderpaul: The man with a weird stance in the crease is also one of the most underrated cricketer, mainly due to the presence of Brian Lara because of which he mostly remained in his shadows until his retirement.Yet, he has managed to pass the 10,000 runs barrier in test cricket and also has more than 8500 runs in ODI’s. Though the West Indian team isn’t as it used to be before, Chanderpaul has always stood up to support his team, giving his best every time he comes to the crease. Bowlers today know well enough that his strange stance is in no way a disadvantage to his batting.

2. Mike Hussey: Mr Cricket is one of the last surviving members of the all conquering Australian cricket team. Today, when the Australian team consists of talented but fresh players, he acts as a mentor and helps them adapt to international cricket. Also, he is most known for saving Australia from critical situations in test matches and is also a great finisher, an incarnation of another left handed Australian legend, Michael Bevan. Though he is nearly at the sunset of his career, he looks fit and fine and hopes to bring out his best whenever the team needs him, at least for a few years more.

1. Kumar Sangakkara: One of the best batsman in cricket today, Sangakkara has been in tremendous form for the past 2 years. He has been the backbone of Sri Lankan batting. Fittingly, he currently leads the ICC test batting ratings and also has won the “Cricketer of the Year” this year. His batting technique is one of the best among the left handers today. With nearly 10,000 runs in both Test and ODI cricket, his records surely makes him a great cricketer. Among the current lot, he is the one who seems to be the best.

Notable exclusions

Yuvraj Singh: Immediately after his heroics in India’s World Cup campaign, he suffered a life threatening disease. But he has fought it and now has just returned to the team for the upcoming World T20. He will return to his best soon.

Alastair Cook: The English opener was in tremendous form till England became World no 1. Though he is suffering from a lean patch, he is expected to come out of it and re-establish himself in the international arena.