From time to time, especially of late, batting in Test cricket has evolved. The deliberate upper cuts have found a way into the longer version, as well as a few reverse sweeps. Even bowlers have increasingly employed the slower deliveries, reflecting a direct impact of one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

“I think that the conventional thing has gone out of the window. It’s more about the pitch that you are playing on,” says former India left-arm spinner Maninder Singh. “With the advent of T20 and one-day cricket, batsmen tend to play a lot more shots and they develop a tendency to continue playing shots. Might as well keep the fielders posted where they’ve realistic chances of getting catches — like those of Dravid and Sachin — rather than waiting for batsmen to get out in a stereotyped manner,” he says.

Former Indian opener Arun Lal feels it has more to do with the changing nature of pitches. “Even if you go back a few years, you will notice that on pitches with low carry, captains never set orthodox field placements because it never made sense to have people standing in a queue in the slips when the ball just wouldn’t carry. Some captains did try unconventional placements to tackle unorthodox cricketers, but those were largely psychological moves, not really tactical,” he says.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra also feels the change could be permanent. “Pitches across the world are getting slower, which would mean this change is here to stay. Mohali might be different if there’s some carry.”

... contd.