The game of cricket has seen countless batsmen come and go. Most of the batsmen are taught to bat with a certain technique that sticks with them throughout their career. However, there are some who choose to bat in their own unique style and as long as it brings the runs, nobody cares right? Here are the batsmen with the unusual stances in cricket:
Steven Smith:
The Australian captain has a very unusual batting stance and also plays his shots in an unorthodox manner. Smith has a big gap between his feet and is always swerving his bat. He also tends to walk across the line to play his shots, with considerable success.
Lance Klusener:
One of the most popular South African cricketers of his time, Klusener had a funny batting stance while playing. He would place himself in a “baseball stance” with a high backlift to help him hit the ball hard. Bowlers figured him out and his career declined.
Kevin Pietersen:
The controversial English batsman had a stance that was unique and bought him great success. His feet would be wide apart and the bat was placed to give him a high back lift. He also shuffled to unsettle the bowler many times.
Graham Gooch:
The former English legendary batsman was one of the first players with an awkward stance. His head would be in line with the off stump while the bat would be way over the head. He also would walk across to come in line with the ball to hit it.
Hashim Amla:
The South African batsman also bats with an unusual stance that includes a high back lift. His bat however, is pointed towards the gully region. Despite this, he is able to get the most out of his technique.
Ijaz Ahmed:
The Pakistani was known as the “axe man” because of his interesting batting stance. He would position it as an axe, right between his legs and would literally hit the ground like he was cutting wood.
Fawad Alam:
The Pakistani had a very weird batting stance while he used to play. His stance had him standing across the stumps with a cross bat. This allowed him to get a better view of the bowler throwing the ball and bought him good success.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul:
Probably the most famous exponent of the funny stance, Chanderpaul batted by literally standing in front of the stumps and showing his front. The stance bought him 30 Test centuries and an average above 50.
Abhishek Nayar:
The Mumbai cricketer was capped by India once and has the most bizarre stance. Similar to Chanderpaul, his stance has him crouching and facing the bowler, ready to pounce on any good length delivery.
Mike Rindel:
He is another cricketer who has the baseball stance – with a high backlift and sweeping arms. He played for South Africa in 22 ODIs and was always present outside the leg stump with the bat always pointed high above his head.
By Rohit Nair
