This week is turning out to be bizarre and special for cricket in general! On Tuesday, 21-year-old Indian cricketer Mohit Ahlawat scored a ridiculous 300 runs in T20 cricket, during a local match in New Delhi.
Now, there is another player from Asia, who has caught attention. Her name is Shaila Sharmin.
Playing at the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup qualifier 2017 in Sri Lanka, the 27-year-old Bangladesh cricketer is hogging the limelight following her ambidextrous bowling (with both the hands)!
This is however, not the first time, that a player has done ambidextrous bowling in cricket, but here's why Sharmin's feat is special: This is not only the first time that any women cricketer has attempted this feat, but also she already holds the record of using both her right hand and left hand to bowl in the SAME over for Bangladesh Women in the competition!
An off-spinner, she bowled with her left arm to the right-handed batsman, while when the turn came for the southpaw batsman, she used her right!
Former England Women cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent remained in complete awe:
Sheila Sharmin bowling left & right handed for Bangladesh in the same over. Not seen this before with my own eyes in international cricket! pic.twitter.com/BLqRhY0Vkq
— Ebony Rainford-Brent (@ejrainfordbrent) February 8, 2017
Love it! Sheila Sharmin for @BCBtigers bowls slow left arm to right handers and right arm to left handers!! Serious skill! ?
— Ebony Rainford-Brent (@ejrainfordbrent) February 8, 2017
This is not the first time, however, that cricket has witnessed this bizarre yet special ambidextrous or double-handed bowling! Interestingly, almost every single bowler, except England legend Graham Gooch, who has attempted this bowling style hails from ASIA!
Here are the 5 cricketers from Asia who have tried this feat:
ACTIVE PLAYERS
Akshay Karnewar [India]
Age: 24
Team: Vidarbha (domestic cricket)
Bowling style: Left-arm orthodox spin, right-arm off spin.
IPL team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Competitions where he has shown his special talent: Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20, Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Kamindu Mendis [Sri Lanka]
Age: 18
Team: Sri Lanka U19 cricket team
Bowling style: Right-arm off-break, Slow left-arm orthodox spin
IPL team: None
Competitions where he has shown his special talent: Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2016 in Bangladesh
Yasir Jan [Pakistan]
Possible the only ambidextrous pace bowler ever, Jan can be a force to reckon with, for batsmen in years to come. Pakistan's Geo News has described him as "Wasim Akram and Brett Lee rolled into one"!
According to the AFP, Yasir Jan can record around 145 kilometres per hour with his right arm and 135 kph with his left.
Age: 21
Team: Lahore Qalandars (Pakistan Super League)
Bowling style: Right-arm fast, left-arm medium fast
Competitions where he has shown his special talent: Local tournaments
RETIRED PLAYERS
Hanif Mohammad [Pakistan]
The Pakistan legend also once bowled using both his hands in the match between West Indies and Pakistan at Kingston in 1958, during which Sir Garfield Sobers played his milestone knock of 365 runs.
Hanif, a right-arm spinner, decided to bowl a few left-arm deliveries, to possibly try and change the course of the match.
The home side, however, won the Test match in the end by an innings and 174 runs.
Hashan Tillakaratne [Sri Lanka]
Here's when his special talent emerged: During the Sri Lanka vs Kenya Cricket World Cup 1996. The Lankans scored a record 398 runs in that match at Kandy.
Tillakaratne, a right-arm off-break bowler, used his left arm as well in his only over, which was also the final one for the Kenya innings.
Result of the match: Sri Lanka won by 144 runs.
What does the rule book say about ambidextrous bowling in cricket?
It's simple: All a bowler needs is to inform the umpire before changing his bowling arm!
