A front-foot shot that is one of the most classical and elegant in cricket is a "cover drive," propelling the ball towards the fielding position on the off side, known as cover. The shot is played by moving forward and laying the bat on the ball with the full face, sending the ball through the gap between the fielder at mid-off and the cover fielder. A cover drive is one of the best a batsman can play. When a batsman plays a cover drive, it is an example of immaculate technique, perfect balance, and brilliant timing all at the same time. Otherwise, that will result in something imperfect, and the ball will go up, inviting a possible dismissal. Well played, a cover drive exemplifies the talent of a batsman and is one of the important assets of world-class batters. Also, one of those truly great-looking shots in cricket. Some betting companies are actually considering putting 'number of cover drives' as a betting market. Top 10 Players with Best Cover Drives in the History of Cricket Sr. No Players Country 1 Virat Kohli India 2 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka 3 Ian Bell England 4 Sourav Ganguly India 5 Damien Martyn Australia 6 Babar Azam Pakistan 7 Brian Lara West Indies 8 Sachin Tendulkar India 9 Kane Williamson New Zealand 10 David Warner Australia Virat Kohli Virat Kohli, arguably portraying the best cover drive in cricket at the moment, has scored a thousand runs hitting this particular shot on the off-side. Being one of the fittest players, Kohli hits the shot with the core part of his body, with his body full on a front foot in powerful action to send the ball to the boundary. Kohli has so far accumulated 8848 runs in Test cricket, 13,906 runs in ODI, and is the second highest run-scorer in T20I cricket with 4188 runs. He is considered as the king of cover drive in the world. Kumar Sangakkara Not many a left-handed cricket player could craft a cover drive like the former Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara. He was renowned as one of the best cover drive player in the world. He had belief in the shot to the extent that he waited for languid full deliveries and, with brilliant body balance, dispatched the ball for a boundary. Sangakkara amassed 12,400 runs in Tests and 14,324 runs in ODIs and 1,382 in T20Is. His impressive records include seven consecutive fifties in Test innings, the fastest to 12,000 Test runs, and the most consecutive ODI centuries i.e four. He was competing during the era of players like Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, and AB de Villiers. Also Read | Who is the King of Cricket? Unveiling the Legends and Rising Stars Ian Bell Ian Bell played some phenomenal cover drives in his career. He was rated as a player known for great timing and graceful shots and thus is claimed to be one of the best batsmen ever who has played for England. He scored 7,727 runs in 118 Test matches and 5,416 in 160 ODIs. He has 26 international hundreds with a double ton. Sourav Ganguly The timing alone worked while Ganguly played cover drives. This cricket legend was also renowned as one of the best cover drive player in the world. Ineffectual bat flow, minimal front foot movement, and collapsed back foot added elegance to his batting. With a stance that preferred his exceptional off-side shots, the cover drive came as an unpremeditated stroke with Dada. Damien Martyn An undisputed player from Australia remains Damien Martyn, having one the best cover drives in cricket. The timings and placements were unmatchable. Most of his effectiveness in becoming a high profile Test Batsman was courtesy of the high quality cover-drives he has. So, he signed off his career with 4406 runs in Test Cricket History and 5346 runs in ODI history. Babar Azam Another batsman famous for his cover drive is Pakistan's Babar Azam. Often compared with the India batsman, the way Babar Azam plays the ball on the up makes the cover drive one of the most attractive shots on the cricket field. Since his international debut in 2016, Azam has scored 3920 Test runs, 5729 ODI runs, and 4145 T20I runs. Also Read | Who is the God of T20 Cricket? Discover the Legend! Brian Lara Beautiful shots would have brought the former West Indies captain. With his typical shuffle during the bowler's run-up, Lara positioned himself perfectly for his strokes. His lofted cover drives and sweep shots were a delight to watch. Lara ended his career with 11,953 Test runs and 10,405 ODI runs. Sachin Tendulkar The most classical exponent of the game and the greatest batsman to have ever graced the game, Sachin Tendulkar, played a career based on sound technique. He executed some of the most elegant cover drives, mastering every variation: square, back foot, lofted drives, and even drives against spinners. He was considered as the king of cover drives in the world. In the 2011 World Cup, he hit boundaries on the cover side with simple defensive shots. Tendulkar retires with 15,921 Test runs and 18,426 ODI, and with 100 international centuries to his name, he is the only man to be said to have done. Kane Williamson One of the most stylish batsmen in modern-day cricket, Kane Williamson, is marked for his textbook shots, played beautifully with a great cover drive. Williamson is regarded as one of the most focused and committed players; he places the ball to great precision. He has aggregated 8743 Test runs, 6810 ODI runs, and 2575 T20I runs thus far in his career. David Warner David Warner is one of the most aggressive batters from Australia, whose major killing shot, as they called it, was the cover drive. In fact, even cricket betting had to take a plunge in his very predictable model for strategies in betting. He just called time on his international cricket career, with a winning notched of accolades won greater than just about any other ordinary player. These include the 2015 ODI World Cup, the 2021 T20 World Cup, the 2021 World Test Championship, and the 2023 ICC World Cup. He has scored overall 8786 runs in Tests, 6932 runs in ODIs, and 3277 runs in T20Is. Also Read | The Epic India vs Pakistan Cricket Rivalry: A Comprehensive Head-to-Head Analysis