Kevin Pietersen’s switch-hitting in a one-day international has sent the guardians of the game into boardroom discussions. But KP’s antics have given hope to someone like Delhi junior cricketer Sunny Sherawat, who has been secretly practicing in the nets for the last three years — secretly because unorthodox shots are still forbidden in “acche aur upar ki (good, high-quality) cricket”. Sunny is ambidextrous — a right-handed batsman who’s capable of batting left-handed too — and has even sent the ball sailing over the Ferozeshah Kotla boundary ropes with both hands to prove his worth. Further, he’s a right-arm seamer who can bowl left-arm spin when the team requires. And, he has already registered run-outs in matches while throwing with either arm as per convenience. Given his rare talent, it is surprising to experts that the 17-year old is still knocking on the doors of Delhi under-19 team, despite having led Delhi under-15 team and represented under-17 squad with distinction.“I just started this entire thing for fun. I saw Douglas Marillier of Zimbabwe score runs against Zaheer Khan over the keeper’s head (in a one-day in Faridabad in 2002). Those shots caught my fancy, and I started developing them. When a man was posted there, I realised I have to learn to hit the ball over the third-man area too. And then I tried switching my stance and gradually realised I was very comfortable batting left-handed too. I tried knocking in the nets and realised there wasn’t any flaw in my technique either,” he says. “Similarly, when I used to bowl to seniors , I would occasionally bowl left-arm spin and they would marvel at it, saying I’m really good at that. So I started practicing with some of my friends. But I was always very scared of trying anything different in matches, or telling my coach, because people say these things don’t reflect well on a good cricketer.”Coach Tarak Sinha of Sonnet club, under whom Sunny learnt his cricket, admits he’s a traditionalist but says Sunny’s abilities have to be encouraged in changing times. “Normally I would never allow anything of this sort in my nets but these are T20 days and these things, especially after Pietersen played it in an ODI, are much in vogue. To me, he’s still a right-arm pacer and right-hand batsman in my club line-up, but I don’t stop him from trying those shots or practicing them in the nets,” he says. “In fact, what Pietersen has done just now, Sunny has got away with those shots much earlier in club games. He’s a big rage now with his team mates because his abilities that have fetched runs in the slog overs.”A Class XI student of DPS, Mathura Road, Sunny has clear ideas about when to use the unorthodox shots. “I play these left-handed shots only during the slog over to get advantage of field placements. Otherwise I try and stick to my proper batting and bowling. I saw Pietersen hitting those two sixes — he did it really well. He isn’t ambidextrous like me, so maybe I can be better,” he says. Another similarity between him and KP is a shining diamond stud in the left ear. He recalls how, when he was attending an NCA camp two years ago, Venkatesh Prasad had caught him batting left-handed against the bowling machine. “The nets session was over and I was just trying to play a few balls when Venky sir saw me. I was a bit worried but he encouraged me to develop this quality, and he was baffled when I told him I could bowl left-arm spin too. He thought I was joking but when I showed him, he advised me to consciously develop these qualities. But I was a little scared to boast of it thinking it wasn’t normal,” he says.But, confident now about Pietersen’s knock, Sunny promises to show more of his skills in the coming tournaments.
