Helicopter shot


In cricket, the helicopter shot is the act of hitting the ball by means of a wristy flick, using the bottom-hand as the dominant force. The shot gets its name from the flourish completing the stroke, with the bat being circled overhead. It has been considered an unconventional and innovative stroke which, when executed effectively, can be used to score boundaries, even against good yorkers or fuller-length deliveries, which have traditionally been used by faster bowlers towards the end of limited-overs matches because it is difficult to hit such balls to the boundary.
Mohammad Azharuddin played the first helicopter shot against the South African team in 1990 at Eden Gardens. Aravinda Silva, Kevin Peterson and Charama Silva also played similar shots. The shot got its name and fame through MS Dhoni, who played on a regular basis as a way to score boundaries against full and yorker length deliveries. It was a fellow player Santosh Lal, a childhood friend of Dhoni, who taught him how to play the shot.