The ever-evolving T20 batter

Former India batting coach Bangar on how T20s are now more than just hitting the ball out of the ground

MUMBAI: David Warner was a good right-hand batter as a junior, once playing a full season right-handed. That gives him great flexibility in T20s. Glenn Maxwell was prodigiously talented and his teachers encouraged him to play left-handed in his primary school days so that his teammates could even have a chance to dismiss him. That experience allows him to nullify field placements with switch hits and reverse sweeps. Suryakumar Yadav too is an example of the modern-day batter who can find every corner of the ground with deft 360-degree play.

These are fearless batters. They take the ball from right in front of their face to play the lap shot and the scoops/reverse scoops to open up the arc behind square. There are the clean hitters too while India captain Rohit Sharma has the rare combination of timing and power-hitting.

There is no denying that T20 has forced batters to evolve like never before. The power-hitters are the main attraction but former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar reckons there is so much more to the game.

Big hits overrated

“The notion that wins are set up by big hits is not exactly right. If you look at an average T20 game, if there is some thing in the pitch, then to think that T20 is all about hitting is wrong,” said Bangar, also a vastly experienced IPL coach.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach says the key to finding consistency in T20 batting is to take it as it comes.

“Despite all the development in the shot-making, you still find that the average T20 score hasn’t gone up drastically. If the average score at the start of T20 cricket was 160, at most it has gone to 170-180. So, on a very good day, the team will cross 200. But generally, the teams are in the range of 175-180. There are multiple reasons. One is the kind of risk you have to take; the pressure that is on the batter to hit every ball means he is going to be dismissed earlier, and bowlers have also got smarter. Batting is how you feel on the day. If you put too many targets in your mind then it puts massive pressure on the batter. That’s when consistency or effectiveness takes a beating,” the former India all-rounder said.

Bangar, who worked with the India team from 2014 to 2019, a highly successful phase for Virat Kohli & Co, says the strength of India’s batting line-up in T20 is balance. “Our biggest strength is we don’t rely solely on power-hitting. The more we stay with that the better the results.”

Demands of the format

Bangar doesn’t think the demands of the format have changed a lot. “If you see, West Indies have power-hitters from ball one to 120, but you see the struggle they undergo when the conditions don’t suit them. If you are not a technically correct player, then you get found out very quickly because of the extensive analysis that happens,” said Bangar, a regular TV analyst.

That the top order has to go after the bowling in the powerplay is a no-brainer but the assault has to be calculated.

Premeditated shots

“(It’s important) not to have two similar players at one time, or even if the players are similar the communication between them becomes critical. Understanding the partnership play is critical in the first two phases (powerplay and middle overs).”

Premeditated strokes are critical in the last five overs. You have to think differently and take the opposition by surprise.

“For the last five overs, it boils down to predicting or anticipating while taking into account the set fields.

“Understanding what the bowler is trying to do, remembering all the inputs that you get before the game and then staying in the moment to get a good hit on the ball. In the final phase, these things become critical but in the first two phases it is still about partnership play, about making the right shot selection.”

Change in mindset

Top players easily adapt to any format. They approach T20 with a certain mindset.

“Most top batters say they let their subconscious react to the ball in the longer format, but T20 is about before the ball is delivered... where you want to hit. So, that is a big change, from a neutral state you are already in a decided state, it is one big difference. The other difference is you are always going hard at the ball, so high backlift, hard hands; in Tests you are playing a normal backlift, relaxed hands. That is differentiating the needs of the game.”

Baseball hitting

A mindset change is accompanied by change in techniques too. As batters look to upgrade their skills, they look at other sports and adapt.

“Because of the tendency of the batters to keep hitting the ball longer and harder, the element of baseball mechanism is coming into T20 batting as well. In baseball you are scoring only 90 degrees; in cricket, you have the option of scoring 360 degrees. Baseball technique shows in how the hips are getting engaged. This allows them to hit longer but only in front of the wicket.

“It’s about stepping towards the ball, flat batting it when the mid-off fielder is up. Warner plays it often.

“A lot of these players practice now so that they are able to hit the ball further, more so in front of the wicket. Players like Liam Livingstone also use it. It comes very naturally to Rohit. The next time he plays a shot, just keep an eye on his hips and knees, it finishes in an L. That is why he hits big sixes,” said Bangar.