5 batsmen who played unorthodox shots before AB de Villiers

What is influencing modern day cricket most? Obviously, it is the Twenty20 Format, and because of its inception, both batsmen and bowlers are looking for innovations to sustain themselves at the top level. While the bowlers have developed some variations like the Carrom Ball, Teesra etc., the batsmen have found their own range of shots. Irrespective of the bowler, the batsmen are comfortable in dispatching the ball all around the park with some innovative shots.AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Eoin Morgan are some names that come to our mind when we talk about unorthodox shots. De Villiers in particular, has a wide range of shots and those have attracted a lot of audiences. It is no lie that the textbook cricket shots are always a treat to our eyes, but playing those innovative shots need some special skills and De Villiers has mastered it to perfection, which has earned him the name Mr 360 degree. But even before the South African, many other batsmen have tried their hands at those unorthodox shots.Let us take a look at five batsmen who played unorthodox shots before AB de Villiers:

#5 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar’s upper cut

Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar started playing the upper cut to tackle the bouncers on speedy wickets. If the bowler pitches the ball in a short length and if there is some extra bounce, the batsman just needs to guide the ball over the head of the slip cordon. This is a risky shot as the ball can take the edge of the bat and fly straight to the keeper or slips or even the third man if it is not executed correctly.

After Sachin, his teammate Virender Sehwag started to master this shot. Several batsmen try this shot these days after the field restrictions came into play in the limited overs format.

#4 Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen came up with the switch hit

The Switch hit is a shot that faced a lot of criticisms as it was termed as a big disadvantage to the bowler as the captain cannot set his field for this type of shot. The batsman changes his guard and needs to change from right handed to left handed or vice-versa before the bowler delivers the ball.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen first played this shot against New Zealand’s Scott Styris and has mastered this shot. Now many batsmen around the world are capable of successfully completing a switch hit. Apart from Pietersen, Aussie opener David Warner pulls off this shot once in a while.

#3 Douglas Marillier

Douglas Marillier hits the scoop shot against India

The Scoop shot came into existence when Zimbabwe’s Douglas Marillier spooned a full-length delivery off Glenn McGrath over the wicket-keeper’s head. This is a shot that will give the batsmen a plenty of runs as the fielding side cannot afford a fielder right behind the wicket-keeper.

And at the same time, if the batsman misses the ball, he could see his stumps going for a walk. The batsman needs to middle the ball just to make sure it goes beyond the reach of the keeper. Most of the modern day cricketers play this shot under various names.

Tillakaratne Dilshan’s Dilscoop and Jos Buttler’s ramp shot are the extensions to the scoop shot.

#2 MS Dhoni

The twirl of the bat which MS Dhoni gives for his helicopter shot

The Helicopter Shot is nothing but a wristy whip with a lot of power from the bottom hand and it is called so because the batsmen swing the bat like the blades of a helicopter in the follow through of the shot. Though the shot has been described as MS Dhoni's exclusive as he is the one who gave the shot some limelight, there were some evidences that show the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Abdul Razzaq have played the shots in the early 2000s.

In the current pool of players, Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad uses it to good effect often. This is not the easiest shot to play as MS Dhoni in the past has said that if the ball missed the bat, there is a risk of bat hitting the toes, which could have the batsman's career in jeopardy.

#1 Mushtaq Mohammad/Hanif Mohammad

Famous Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Mohammad

The reverse sweep- the unorthodox version of the traditional sweep has been in existence since the 1970s. Pakistan's Mushtaq Mohammad is the first to play it in international cricket, but the credits go to his brother Hanif Mohammad for inventing the shot.

Unlike other unorthodox shots, this is easier for the batsmen to play and most of them prefer this against the spinners. Several batsmen around the world have played this shotand the names that come to our mind when speaking about reverse sweep are Andy Flower and Grant Flower. Modern day cricketers like Eoin Morgan and Glenn Maxwell have gone a step further and have started to use this shot against the quicks as well.