Sourav Ganguly supports switch hit, says the game of cricket has moved on

There have been opinions backing and lashing at the shot played by Maxwell, but former India skipper and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly chose to stand behind Maxwell and the switch hit.

“The game has moved on, so I don’t see we can take away this popular stroke from the modern-day batsmen,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Mid Day.

“You require a lot of strength to play such courageous shot. Apart from timing and feet movement, a lot of other things are required to play this stroke. Kevin Pietersen was the first to play this shot. Also, David Warner’s name should come here. It’s a very good shot if you can hit it nicely,” said Ganguly.

Former international umpire Simon Taufel had said there was no legal ground to ban the switch hit.

“The game of cricket is not a science, it’s an art. We’re not perfect. When we say that we want to ban that type of shot how does the umpire officiate that? It’s impossible.

“The umpire has an enormous number of decisions – front foot, back foot, protected area, seeing where a ball is hit – it’s impossible to have an official then watch for the changing of the grip or stance. It’s an impossible ask for a standing umpire to make that determination. We can’t make a law that we can’t apply,” Taufel told Sydney Morning Herald.

However, former Australian captain Ian Chappell had said switch hit should be banned.

“One of the main tasks of a cricket administrator is to frame laws that maintain a reasonable balance between bat and ball. If the laws or playing conditions favour one or the other unfairly then the game becomes a diminished contest,” wrote Chappell in ESPNCricinfo.