Sachin Tendulkar's Straight Drive, Rohit Sharma's Pull, Jos Buttler's Scoop - Ian Bell Names His Perfect 360-Degree Batsman

Former England batsman Ian Bell names the shots he would pluck out from other international batters to make his perfect 360-degree batter.

While filming a feature for ESPNcricinfo where Ian Bell has to choose characteristics of his dream batsman, he first went with legendary India batsman Sachin Tendulkar‘s beautiful straight drive, which is a delight for the aesthetes.

“Sachin Tendulkar (for straight drive), the best I saw on the field growing up. A pleasure to watch sometimes, hard to watch when you are on the field and chasing the leather,” Ian Bell said in an ESPNCricinfo video.

There was little doubt that Ian Bell would go for anyone else for a cover drive, a delicious one that he is highly known for, although he hailed Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as players of attractive cover drives.

“Babar Azam like, Kohli, has got a lot of time but I’d give it to myself,” he said.

Ian Bell picks Rohit Sharma’s pull, Alastair Cook’s cut

Ian Bell, who retired with over 13,000 international runs, is impressed by Rohit Sharma’s exquisite pull and hook shots against high pace. The Indian opener is arguably the best batsman against short-pitch deliveries currently in the world. Former England captains Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen make into Ian Bell’s perfect batsman for their cut and down the ground hit shots respectively.

“Watching him (Rohit) against Jofra Archer’s pace this winter. I know you could say it’s a pull shot or hook shot. But I have faced Archer before, that’s not an easy shot.

“Alastair Cook for cross-batted shots, pull and cut. Really hard to bowl at,” he said.

The 39-year-old is left astonished over the past few years by Jos Buttler’s innovative scoop shot; he likes the sweep and the reverse sweep of Joe Root and Ben Stokes as well to complete his dream batter.

“He (Buttler) makes it so easy, like crazy. I have watched him doing practice at nets. Looks silly at times but he’s a genius,” Ian Bell concluded.

Also Read: If I Perform, I Know I’ll Definitely Be Back: Kuldeep Yadav