The iconic shots that made Kevin Pietersen

Few players have been as synonymous with a shot in cricket as Kevin Pietersen has been to the switch hit. 

The ICC Hall of Famer and the former England international made the art of the unconventional look routine with his seamless execution. 

Speaking after being inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, Pietersen shared that it was his mother’s ruthless serves during their squash games that inspired his iconic shot.

“That was purely based on me being a squash player as a kid, having a very, very tough upbringing,” he said.

“Mum and dad did not want us to win. We played squash. They were Premier League squash players in KwaZulu-Natal, in Pietermaritzburg and in Durban, and we used to play a lot of squash. And I got that sort of backhand from mum.

“Mum used to serve it over the back into the back corner and I had to go out there and she was ruthless. 

“She was after me and always used to try and get that ball out of the backhand and boost it into the front of the court. And so, actually the switch hit is what I say is just to flick through the off side, playing a backhand in squash.”

Pietersen conceded that him being a leg-side dominant cricketer meant the shot opened new avenues of scoring for him. But one that still required a lengthy preparation.

“Hitting the ball beautifully through the leg side and favouring the leg side, often the field (for me) was set on the leg side, especially against the spinner. 

“And I remember that Test match in Birmingham (2006) where Muralitharan set a leg side field. I beat him through the leg side and he said, to hell with it.

“And I looked at the field and I saw scoring options and I had practiced this. This had been six months in the making of being able to hit this ball. I started with one hand.

“Then I went back to two hands. Then I started to try and get the timing right and I always say I played the shot when I had enough runs to make sure I wasn't going to get dropped for the next test match, so I'd had enough to go. 

“He'll play the next game. Silly mistake if I'd got out, but I didn't get out. It went the distance”

The Flamingo was another go-to shot where Pietersen manipulated the field through his strong side on the leg. 

“I was doing a film with someone on my YouTube channel, and they were talking about this exact shot, and they were saying they got out many times playing the shot because they were just hitting it up in the air.

“There's a method in the madness, that the way to play that shot is to play with a straight bat and as you make contact, you close the face on the bat.

“And so it was more of a straight shot that I created something from. But again, it was about run-scoring. It was about finding the gap, packing this side of the field. 

“I had a weakness outside the off stump and so they bowled wider of the stump and I was like, if you're going to go there, I'm gonna have to come outside off stump and score.”

Pietersen was inducted into the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 11 for his outstanding achievements in the game. 

The swashbuckling English batter amassed 13,797 international runs, averaging over 40 in both ODI cricket (40.73) and Test cricket (47.28), while also playing a pivotal role in redefining the shortest format for England.

He was adjudged the player of the tournament in the 2010 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the same year England won the coveted trophy.

Alongside him, former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Anjum Chopra were also bestowed with the honour.