Tendulkar's Batting Grip

[ludhianvi]

Tendulkar uses a very bottom hand batting grip. His bottom hand is all the way at the base of the handle. As far as I know, this is not the conventional way to hold the bat. Yet Tendulkar has been really successful with this technique. Is there a specific reason for him holding the bat at the base or just a habit ? Some reasons I can think of : 1. Since he used a fairly heavy bat, gripping the bat at the base eases the weight. 2. As a short man, he uses a long bat and to counter that, he hold the bat at the base of the handle. What do you think?

[Guest Hiten.]

To add to your post, I can think he is a very wristy batsman so it might help him turn the bat accordingly. VVS is another that comes to my mind who hold his bat the same way as SRT does.

[thevortex]

To add to your post' date=' I can think he is a very wristy batsman so it might help him turn the bat accordingly. VVS is another that comes to my mind who hold his bat the same way as SRT does.[/quote'] Hmm...Laxman holds and handles the bat very differently from Sachin. Laxman believes in giving himself space and not getting into line with the ball, so that he can leverage his wrists. Essentially he will have to keep his bottom hand loose. Also the bat arc starts more from 3rd man than from right behind. All this means that Laxman's dominant grip is the top hand while it is the opposite for Sachin. But when Laxman wants to pull, he can effortlessly roll his wrists over the ball. Amazing and one of a kind player. Basically an improved version of Azharuddin!

[gaurav92]

Ludhz i agree wiith both your points.

[vvvslaxman]

I use Gilly grip. Top end. Superb for driving. But i don't know how he managed to play fierce pull shots even on the frontfoot with that grip.

[gaurav92]

^Thats what keeps all his fans spell bounded :D

[King Tendulkar]

Anyone use Kaifs grip?

[thevortex]

I use Gilly grip. Top end. Superb for driving. But i don't know how he managed to play fierce pull shots even on the frontfoot with that grip.

With that grip he would have gotten into trouble if he had attempted to keep the ball on the ground. His grip was made to get the ball off the ground and into orbit! :) Golf ball or not, he was a magnificent player - not just for Australia but for the world at large.

[Ram]

Here's my take from my own experiments with batting grips; Strong bottom-handed grips - Generally a trait of subcontinental batsmen. Allows you to drive more effectively straight down the ground and play those wristy shots in the arc b/w square leg and mid-wicket. Can use to work balls from way outside off-stump to the leg-side. Dis-adv - What you gain in driving, you lose out in pulling and cutting. You also tend lose shape and the bat face closes early when you're trying to slog and hit the ball really hard. Strong top-handed grip - Makes you a more effective off-side player, helping you drive on the up more freely b/w backward point and cover. Slightly inhibits driving down the ground, but very effective when it comes to slogging length balls over mid-wicket because you have increased leverage. In this grip, your power shots are more reliant on timing than power. Also very effective for pulling and cutting. Dis-adv - Very difficult to work balls from outside off-stump to the leg-side with this grip, hence you tend to lose out on the scoring arc b/w backward square leg and wide mid-off. This was long time ago (7-8 years), but I used to experiment a lot with my batting grips and found that certain types of grips helped me play certain types of shots better. But the thing is, I am a left-hander, who batted right handed till I was about 15 and then switched to batting left-handed. And once that happened, I immediately felt my batting grip getting predominantly more bottom-handed. But generally speaking, it is what works for you best. There is no 'if you hold the bat this way, you will be able to play such and such shots better', which is why you tend to see a lot of exceptions to the norm.

[vvvslaxman]

Anyone use Kaifs grip?

That is the worst grip :hysterical:

[King]

There is no such thing as the right grip. Everyone has their own style and MCC's coaching book is only a guide line. In fact it hasn't been changed for a long time. Lara had an open face back lift towards point while Tendulkar's is more classic with back lift going towards the 1st/2nd slip. Ponting's is more towards gully and so is Rahul Dravid's. Depending on the middle of the bat the cricketers uses when young their grip would have evolved. Lower middle on a bat would prompt a lower grip while the sweet spot higher on the bat would prompt the grip to be in the middle of the bat or even higher. In the end it's a personal preference.

[Serani]

There is no such thing as the right grip. Everyone has their own style and MCC's coaching book is only a guide line. In fact it hasn't been changed for a long time. Lara had an open face back lift towards point while Tendulkar's is more classic with back lift going towards the 1st/2nd slip. Ponting's is more towards gully and so is Rahul Dravid's. Depending on the middle of the bat the cricketers uses when young their grip would have evolved. Lower middle on a bat would prompt a lower grip while the sweet spot higher on the bat would prompt the grip to be in the middle of the bat or even higher. In the end it's a personal preference.

Coaches seem to think Tendulkars grip is wrong though, remember having this grip a few years ago when I played junior cricket and got told to change it to a more "regular" grip. Maybe its just coaches in England on a mission to make sure everyone bats in the exact same way.

[King]

Coaches seem to think Tendulkars grip is wrong though' date=' remember having this grip a few years ago when I played junior cricket and got told to change it to a more "regular" grip. Maybe its just coaches in England on a mission to make sure everyone bats in the exact same way.[/quote'] Coaches also think Gilly's grip was wrong, Lara's back lift was wrong, whipping the ball against the line of the ball is wrong, playing straighter is the best and so forth. Wonder if we are going to be producing talents such as Tendulkar, Lara, Akram, Sir Viv and the likes in future given the over coaching. England coaches will produce plenty of papers with regards to Bio-mechanics and will try to work with everyone according to their research. One size won't fit all and the naturally talented blokes will suffer. It has to be said the England players don't over analyze but these seep into places like New Zealand, India, West Indies and a few other places where coaches use it as a bible. If one thing has changed from the last decade, it is the coaching style. These days the kids are taught how to stand, sit, changing field set, bowling changes pretty much everything leaving no room for the younger brains to flourish. When they grow up they find it hard to operate without the coaches hanging around their neck at all times.

[Sachinism]

Coaches seem to think Tendulkars grip is wrong though' date=' remember having this grip a few years ago when I played junior cricket and got told to change it to a more "regular" grip. Maybe its just coaches in England on a mission to make sure everyone bats in the exact same way.[/quote'] Hey the experts said Sehwag has a poor technique, but it works for him. At the end of the day thats what matter. You stick with what you're comfortable with.

[gaurav92]

Hey the experts said Sehwag has a poor technique' date=' but it works for him. At the end of the day thats what matter. You stick with what you're comfortable with.[/quote'] ++ Its upto the batsmen who has every right to chose his style of play

[Jersey #10]

I hold the bat just like he does. My bottom hand is always touching the base of the handle. Tons (I mean it) of people have suggested me not to do it but I just can't bat the "conventional" way. you know what? feck conventional way...I go the GOD's way...:yay:

[vvvslaxman]

I have tried that bottom hand grip. It is very uncomfortable.

[Jersey #10]

Coaches seem to think Tendulkars grip is wrong though' date=' remember having this grip a few years ago when I played junior cricket and got told to change it to a more "regular" grip. Maybe its just coaches in England on a mission to make sure everyone bats in the exact same way.[/quote'] I have been asked to change my grip as well but guess what? :finger: Really, for me holding the bat with the bottom hand very close to the base of the handle gives you more power as you get a lot bigger torque. There is physics behind it.

[Jersey #10]

I have tried that bottom hand grip. It is very uncomfortable.

you would get a lot of handling and speed to your bat with the bottom hand grip. That's how it is for me at least.

[gaurav92]

I use the top hand grip, but i still reckon, whipping the ball with such a grip is not that difficult