India Fall Short of Bangladesh Mark

India’s pronounced tilt towards left-handed batting at the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup prompted lively debate, but the side ultimately fell short of matching — let alone surpassing — a record held by Bangladesh in international T20 cricket.

Of the 16 players named in India’s World Cup squad, nine were left-handed batters — a strikingly high proportion in modern limited-overs cricket. In the group stage fixtures against the United States, Pakistan and the Netherlands, India fielded seven left-handers in their starting XI. The number dipped slightly to six against Namibia, before returning to seven in their Super Eight opener against South Africa.

The selection pattern raised eyebrows among statisticians and supporters alike. A reader query to ESPNcricinfo’s “Ask Steven” column suggested that India might have set a record by fielding eight left-handed batters against Pakistan in the group phase. However, the claim was swiftly corrected by Steven Lynch, international editor of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. Lynch clarified that four right-handed batters had featured in that match, meaning India’s total stood at seven left-handers, not eight.

More significantly, even seven left-handed batters does not represent an Indian record in T20 internationals. That distinction belongs to a different tournament. At the 2023 Asian Games in China, India fielded eight left-handed batters in their XI in matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan — the highest such figure for India in the format.

Yet even that tally does not approach the global benchmark. According to Lynch, the world record for the most left-handed batters in a men’s T20 international XI belongs to Bangladesh. In July 2021, during the third T20I of a series against Zimbabwe in Harare, Bangladesh selected nine left-handed batters. Only two players in that XI — captain Mahmudullah and Nurul Hasan — batted right-handed.

The following table summarises the most notable instances in men’s T20 internationals:

The phenomenon is not confined to T20 cricket. In Test cricket, both England and West Indies share the record for the most left-handed batters in a single XI. In January 2014, England fielded eight left-handed batters in the Sydney Test against Australia. West Indies matched that number on two occasions — against Pakistan in Georgetown in 2000 and against England at The Oval in the same year.

The strategic use of left-handers has grown in importance in the modern game, particularly in white-ball cricket, where disrupting bowling rhythms and manipulating field placements can prove decisive. Nonetheless, despite India’s recent abundance of left-handed options, Bangladesh’s remarkable nine-left-hander XI remains the highest recorded figure in international T20 cricket.