Top 4 players of the switch hit

Modern-day cricket seems to have given the word “unorthodox” a completely new meaning. 10 years ago, the reverse sweep was considered to be an innovative shot. Today, the shot is part of most batsman’s repertoire.Among the several unconventional shots that are played today, the switch hit seems to have captured the imagination of most. The main difference between this shot and the reverse-sweep is that in a switch hit, the batsman converts from a right-handed to a left-handed batsman and vice-versa, by swapping positions on the handle of the bat, whereas in a reverse-sweep, the batter doesn't alter his handle and instead plays an unconventional sweep shot.Here’s a list of 4 batsmen who play or used to play the switch hit convincingly.

#5 Bonus - Sachin Tendulkar practicing the switch hit

It may surprise a few, but the switch hit bug seemed to have caught a player even as great as Sachin Tendulkar. Here’s a video of the Master Blaster trying his hand at the shot.

#4 Robin Uthappa

The Kodava-batsman might be focusing on playing correct cricketing shots nowadays, but during the early part of his cricketing career, he was quite innovative in his strokeplay, often walking down the wicket to fast bowlers and smashing them over their head for boundaries and sixes.

However, during this period, he played a few switch hits as well, his most memorable one being off Ajanta Mendis in the IPL in 2010. He has also tried playing the shot of other bowlers but hasnt been very successful in his attempts.

#3 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell

An Australian batsman who seems to take a liking to spinners is Glenn Maxwell. His switch-hitting, especially off the bowling of Ashwin in this year’s IPL took everyone by surprise and even the off-spinner later admitted to have been foxed by the assault on him by the hard hitting right-hander.

#2 David Warner

Another member in the switch hit club, David Warner seems to specialise on hitting the shot especially to spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin has been on the receiving end on more than one occasion, having been smashed by the left-hander once during an International T20 in Australia and once again during the Champions League T20.

#1 Kevin Pietersen

The first player to play the shot, Kevin Pietersen doesn't seem to care about who is bowling to him. His quick changes in the handle of the bat and posture, from being a right-handed batsman to a left-handed batsman catches the opposition teams off-guard on most occasions and sometimes even the bowler finds it hard to hide his bewildered look after watching the 34-year-old play the shot. He first played the stroke of Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006, leaving everyone at the ground astonished. He played it again off Scott Styris two years later, not once but twice, leaving the bowler completely puzzled.