New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS): Former India captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has lent his support to the switch hit. The shot has been in the news recently due to Australia's Glenn Maxwell's usage of it during their limited overs series against India.

"The game has moved on, so I don't see why we can take away this popular stroke from the modern-day batsmen," Ganguly was quoted as saying by Mid Day.

"You require a lot of strength to play such courageous shot. Apart from timing and feet movement, a lot of other things are required to play this stroke. Kevin Pietersen was the first to play this shot. Also David Warner's name should come here. It's a very good shot if you can hit it nicely."

Popularised by former England captain Kevin Pietersen, the switch hit has been met with some controversy over the years. Sri Lanka had protested Pietersen using the shot during a Test match in 2012 and the latter got a warning from the umpires for it.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell said that it is unfair that bowlers have to inform the umpires from which end they will bowl while batsmen can change their stance just before the delivery.