'Rohit Sharma's pull shot, Ben Stokes' reverse sweep' - Ian Bell builds his perfect batsman

Ian Bell is regarded as one of the finest batsmen to have represented England and his records speak volumes of his prowess. The right-handed batter had a solid defense and his ability to hit the ball all over the park made him a nemesis for many potent bowling line-ups. Riding on his abilities, Bell tasted success across all formats and took England to numerous wins. In fact, his tally of 13331 runs is the fourth-highest for any England player in international cricket.

Stylish is indeed the first word which pops up in people’s mind when talking about Bell’s batting skills. There was a certain grace in his shots that left the cricket lovers in awe. Hence, who can be a better person than him to judge which batsman played which shot the best?

Featuring in a video for ESPNcricinfo, the 39-year-old made his ‘perfect batter,’ picking different shots and the batter who played them the best. Opining on the straight drive, Bell didn’t have any hesitation in picking Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. For the cover drive, the stylish cricketer asserted that Virat Kohli and Babar Azam play the iconic shot very well. However, he went with himself.

Ben Stokes plays best reverse swoop, Jos Buttler makes scoop look easy: Ian Bell

Speaking of the cut shot, Bell named his former teammate Alastair Cook, who’s England’s highest run-scorer in the longest format. “Cross-batted shots, pull shot, cut shot, he (Cook) was hard to bowl at,” Bell said. While the veteran asserted Ben Stokes plays the best reverse sweep, he heaped praises on Jos Buttler’s scoop shot.

“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,” said Bell. Joe Root was another Englishmen on this list. Bell backed him as the batsman with the best cover drive. Opining on the pull shot, Bell went with dashing Indian opener Rohit Sharma.

“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.” At last, Bell talked about the player who smashed best maximums down the ground. After thinking for a while, the 39-year-old went with his former teammate Kevin Pietersen.