Five Indian Cricketers Who Bat Left-Handed But Bowl With Their Right Arm

There are no shortages of cricketers who bat and bowl with contrasting hands across international and domestic cricket. It is a useful skill to have for a player to perform two different actions with different hands. To be ambidextrous is to cause discomfort to batsmen or bowlers, who may find it difficult facing such players.

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In retrospect, such skill adds a variety for a team and the side can get a breakthrough or chalk a win out of nowhere. Unlike any other game, cricket also involves players playing dual roles occasionally. For instance, we have witnessed cricketers like MS Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist, picking up a wicket in competitive games. Similarly, India has also produced such players like Zaheer Khan, who is a left-arm bowler but bats right-handed. Hence, we have a glance at the opposite.

We take a look at five Indian cricketers who bat left-handed but bowl with their right-arm:

Shikhar Dhawan:

Shikhar Dhawan has become India’s mainstay at the top-order in limited-overs cricket. The flamboyant left-handed batsman has the knack of scoring quick runs and is one of the strongest players on the off-side. Along with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan has formed one of the fearsome opening partnerships in ODI cricket.

The 34-year old bowls off-spin with the help of his right-arm while he bats left-handed. While Dhawan has bowled 54 balls in international cricket without any wicket, but he has 16 scalps across first-class, List A, and IPL cricket.

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Gautam Gambhir:

Gautam Gambhir was one of the most influential batsmen during his prime days of playing. Gambhir was part of the Indian team that lifted the T20 trophy in 2007 and won the 50-over World Cup in 2011. In both the finals of the tournament, the 38-year old made half-centuries that proved to be the bedrock of India’s victory.

Being a specialist batsman, Gautam Gambhir hardly bowled in international cricket. Across 58 Tests, 37 T20Is, and 147 ODIs, the Delhi batsman bowled 18 balls without any wicket. However, he has seven wickets in first-class cricket and a single scalp in List A career off leg-spin.

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Suresh Raina:

A limited-overs specialist, Suresh Raina remained the lynchpin of India’s middle-order for a long time. While his Test career began promisingly as well, he couldn’t stay consistent. But Raina continued to make use of his power-hitting abilities in white-ball cricket. He has over 6000 runs in more than 350 coloured clothing fixtures.

Unlike the above two cricketers, the 33-year old is a fairly regular bowler in the international arena. Across 322 international fixtures, he has 61 wickets. Suresh Raina boasts of 36 scalps in 226 ODIs while 13 each have arrived in Tests and T20Is with his off-spin. On the other hand, he has 158 wickets in the domestic circuit.

Robin Singh:

Having taken birth in Trinidad, Robin Singh went on to have a reasonably satisfying international career for India. He was an exceptionally talented all-rounder, who plied his trade primarily in the limited-overs format.

Robin featured in 136 ODIs and a solitary Test from 1989 to 2001. Alongside managing 2336 ODI runs, he also took 69 scalps with his medium pace. The 56-year old was the kind of bowler, who could buy wickets out of nowhere for the team. Across List A, first-class, and T20 cricket, Robin Singh snapped 323 wickets. Currently, he has engaged himself in coaching roles.

Sourav Ganguly:

Sourav Ganguly needs little introduction. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and influential captains, Sourav Ganguly sparked the competitive spirit amongst the Indian team. The Prince of Kolkata has 18000 runs across Tests and ODIs including 132 scalps.

He achieved the duel of 11000 runs and 100 scalps in 311 ODIs. Like Robin Singh, the present BCCI President had a trick of breaking stubborn partnerships using his cunning variations of medium-pace bowling. Ganguly also boasted of economy rates of 5.06 and 3.23 in ODIs and Tests respectively.

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