10 iconic cricketers who immortalised their trademark cricketing shots

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images and Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

It requires a lot of practice to master the art of playing cricketing strokes with ease. In the last few years, it has been witnessed how batters invented new shots to upgrade their batting skills as per the demands of the changing times. Recently, Suryakumar Yadav garnered appreciation for possessing the skill of playing a scoop shot with control. After getting famous for the wonderful stroke, he was even compared to South Africa’s AB de Villers and was also hailed as the new 360-degree batter in international cricket.

Like Suryakumar, back in the 70s and the 80s, the West Indies great Viv Richards also drew attention due to his extraordinary batting technique. During those days, the fabled batter got famous for hitting bowlers for boundaries with his exceptional hook shot playing potential. This iconic stroke became his signature shot which still continues to be recalled in association with the great.

Similarly, there have also been some batters who have etched their names in the minds of their supporters, with their trademark shots. We take a moment to celebrate 10 such iconic batsmen and their equally popular shots.

Here are 10 batters and their signature shots:

10. Babar Azam

 

Babar Azam is counted among the greatest batters of the modern day cricket. He is often seen at par with batting maestros such as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Joe Root due to his exceptional batting talent. In his brief career, he has pulled off some amazing records and has often come to be seen as a messiah of Pakistan cricket, undertaking its renaissance in world cricket.

Delving deeper into his batting capability, one can see the control he exercises over his shots when the stylish batter plays cover drives. Back in 2021, while having a conversation with his teammate Imam-ul-Haq, Babar had said that cover drive is his favourite shot and he was inspired to play it by the legendary South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers.

All throughout his career, Babar has received appreciation for his cover drives, even being compared to Kohli when it comes to mastering the ball’s play in the covers. Recently, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, when South African batsman David Miller was was asked to choose between the cover drives of Kohli and Azam legends, he preferred the Pakistan skipper’s cover drive over that of Kohli.

9. Kane Williamson 

 

Currently, Kane Williamson is one of the batters who possesses the ability to counter spin and seam comfortably. Seeing the New Zealand white-ball skipper playing a back-foot punch late is one of the best sights to behold for any cricket enthusiast. In his career, this shot has helped Williamson to pile up runs even on tough wickets.

In the 2019 World Cup semi-final victory against India, he played a crucial knock of 67 runs off 95 deliveries on the slow track of Old Trafford Cricket Ground. During his steady innings, he used his signature late cut to gather important runs against the spinner-duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal.

This shot gives Williamson crucial time to flick the ball late with elegance, while attempting a back-of-length delivery, outside off stump. In cricket, there are other players such as Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Joe Root and Rohit Sharma who, too, excel in playing the late cut.

8. Tilakaratne Dilshan

 

Tilakaratne Dilshan made his international debut for Sri Lanka in 1999 but he became the backbone of the national team’s batting order in 2004. Till 2016, he played quality cricket for Sri Lanka and ended up among the legends of international cricket. His numbers in all three formats testify his excellence as a batter.

In the 2009 T20 World Cup, he played an incredible scoop shot in a match against Australia and broke into the list of dashing batters who believe in outside-the-box thinking. On the fourth delivery of the eighth over, Dilshan was facing Shane Watson who bowled a slow delivery at him, when Dilshan moved across outside off-stump and crouched down to hit the ball over the head of the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for a four.

The former Sri Lanka stalwart played this marvellous stroke again in the next game against the West Indies. After sighting this wonderful hit, the scoop got its more popular moniker — Dil scoop. In 2011, Dil Scoop featured in a series of commercials released by Pepsi to celebrate a few iconic shots.

7. Rohit Sharma

 

In present day, Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest players in the international circuit. In sixteen years of his career, he has amassed impressive records as a batter. He has established his image as a ferocious batter who can destroy bowlers almost at will, with his stylish stroke play.

In One-Day Internationals (ODIs), he has struck three double centuries and has proven himself as an aggressive batter. Considering his power-hitting ability, he has come to be known as ‘Hitman’ in world cricket.

For one who is Sharma’s fan, watching his/her favourite cricketer play a pull shot is a delight to the eyes. The veteran is known for playing the shot better than any other player in the business. The powerful stroke has helped him gather a lot of runs in his career. However, when going through a rough patch, his signature shot also cost him dearly, as bowlers swicthed to speed variations on pitches with uneven bounce to trouble him.

6. AB de Villiers

 

AB de Villiers was known for his fierce batting attitude during his playing days. His unprecedented capability to get hold of bowlers in all three forms of the sport made him one of the most successful players in the history of cricket. In his cricketing career, he played unconventional shots a great many times and left cricket fans in awe.

Holding the bat in his hand, he does wonders with his amazing reflexes, incredible bat speed and rapid hand movements. Noting his potential to play strokes all around the wicket, he is also called ‘Mr. 360’ and cricket’s ‘Superman’. His spunk and talent to execute unorthodox shots made him one of the best batters in the business to amass runs swiftly and shatter the confidence of bowlers.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), his 360-degree strokeplay drove spectators crazy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. In recent years, some batters such as Glenn Maxwell, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant have also displayed their ability to play unorthodox strokes, thus coming to be compared to the legend Protea.

5. Kevin Pietersen

 

In 2008, Kevin Pietersen took the cricketing world by storm during the England vs New Zealand ODI contest. Confronting Scott Styris, the tall South Africa-born England cricketer played a couple of spunky shots that rewarded him with two sixes. His strokes created a ruckus in international cricket as the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), the custodian of Laws, held an emergency meeting to discuss the legality of Pietersen’s innovative stroke.

After the discussion, the MCC endorsed the ace English batter’s switch-hit saying that the stroke is innovative and exciting for the game of cricket. However, the match against the Kiwis wasn’t the first time the right-hander had played that shot. In the home Test series against Sri Lanka in 2006, he smashed spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan using the same shot.

In 2022, Sky Sports shared a video that featured Pietersen, Nasser Hussain, and Ravi Shastri discussing the switch hit. The lanky England batter talked about how he had practised it for several months before finally executing it in an international game.

4. Ricky Ponting

 

Ricky Ponting  has been one of the prolific players who rendered excellent quality services to Australian cricket. In the 17 years of his illustrious international career, he got home two World Cup trophies as a captain. With some jaw-dropping cover drives, square drives, straight drives, pull shots and hook shots in his arsenal, he was one of the most versatile batsmen of his time.

However, of all shots, Ponting mastered the art of playing hook shots better than most of his contemporaries. Throughout his career, he tackled bowlers fearlessly with this signature stroke. He used his amazing hook shot to dispatch short balls effortlessly on the bouncy pitches of SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries, .

At times during his career, Ponting also struggled to play these strokes perfectly and had a bad time tackling blows from pacers. However, those incidents failed to shatter the Aussie great’s confidence to play one of his favourite shots that more often than not, got him runs.

3. MS Dhoni

 

MS Dhoni served India efficiently for 16 years during which, he won a lot of games for the country. His match-winning knocks for India and his IPL franchises still reside in the hearts and minds of his supporters.

In 2005, Dhoni first came to be seen as a match-finisher against Sri Lanka, when he played his best ODI knock (183 runs) in Jaipur. In that game, of all the strokes played by him, one that grabbed the eyes of the experts and fans alike, was the helicopter shot. After that historic knock, the shot featured in several match-winning innings of Dhoni.

Several times, Dhoni got success against the likes of Lasith Malinga, Brett Lee and Dale Steyn, using this trademark shot. These three iconic bowlers were known to hunt batters with their toe-crushing yorkers but when pitched against the former India skipper, their weapon proved ineffective a lot of times due to Dhoni’s trademark hit.

2. Virat Kohli

 

Virat Kohli has pulled off some incredible feats in his career with his perseverance and batting skills. He is considered among the best batters of the world in all forms of cricket due to his spectacular numbers. His potential to play elegant strokes with ease makes him a stylish batter.

For any true cricket fan, watching Kohli play a cover drive is one of the best sights to behold. The veteran has used it as a weapon to amass runs. In the past, the batting ace has whacked some top-notch bowlers such as Mitchell Johnson, Mohammad Amir, and James Anderson using the drive.

Nowadays, Kohli’s cover drive often gets stiff competition from that of Babar Azam. Steve Smith was recently asked to choose between these two legendary players’ cover drives on an ESPNcricinfo show. Replying to it, Smith chose Kohli in terms of the shot. In 2022, New Zealand’s white-ball captain Kane Williamson was also asked the same question and the Kiwi skipper also gave the same answer.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

 

Sachin Tendulkar earned the ‘God of cricket’ title from his fans due to the extraordinary feats achieved in his 24-year-long career. To date, the master blaster holds the majority of ODI and Test batting records. From scoring the most runs to the most centuries and half-centuries, the batting maestro has it all to his name.

During his cricketing career, Tendulkar had many strokes in his arsenal but the most exquisite of all was his straight drive. In recent times, this shot was prominently etched in the minds of cricket fans when in 2008, Tendulkar played it against bowling icon and his rival Brett Lee in the fourth match of the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series.

Facing the third delivery of the fifth over of the Indian innings, Tendulkar smacked Lee for a stunning straight drive. The delivery of the Aussie speedster clocked 152.5 km/hr but it was the India legend’s courage and skill that won the contest. On several instances, Tendulkar was recorded revealing that straight drive was his favourite shot.

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