India's top off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stated on his official YouTube channel that if a batter misses an opportunity to perform a switch hit and the ball is pitched outside leg stump, they should be declared leg-before-wicket.
"My point is about lbw, not whether he can play the reverse sweep or not, or whether bowling outside the leg stump is a bad bowling approach or not. It's unfair that it's not ruled lbw.
Allow batters to play switch hits, but call LBW if they miss. When the batter turns, how can you claim it is not LBW? According to Ashwin's reasoning, there might still be some equity between bowling and batting if they start awarding that in all game formats.
A batter cannot be declared out lbw under current rules if the ball pitches outside the leg, even if it hits the stumps, which are known as the "blind spot" for batters. In response to Ashwin's position, former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris is now advocating for a ban on the switch hit itself.
"Well, I guess I'll back up a half step here. Many of Ashwin's points were excellent. I utterly rejected each of his suggestions. Even if we only had a little fun with the switch hit, I genuinely believe that it should be absolutely outlawed.
On the "Sports Over The Top" show on Sports18, Styris said, "There are restrictions for captains and bowlers in terms of where their fieldsmen can be, how many behind point, how many on the leg side, all of these things."
A switch hit ban will discourage people from worrying about the lbw law, according to Styris, a former Blackcaps all-rounder who played in 29 Tests, 188 ODIs, and 31 T20 Internationals. Ashwin discussed this on his Youtube channel.
"As a result, I don't think a batter should be able to switch his hands over or his feet, either. If you'd like, you can play the reverse sweep or reverse hit, but I don't enjoy this. Kevin Pietersen has completely changed as a lefthander in terms of the hands.
"I believe the LBW law that Ashwin is referring to won't be an issue if you eliminate the switch hit but leave in all reverse sweeps and reverse hits. Additionally, it enables a fair competition between the bowler and the batsman.