Simon Taufel, once a renowned member of the ICC Elite Panel of umpires, says it's not practical for the switch-hit to be suddenly outlawed. Taufel believes it's "impossible" for the on-field umpires to monitor a batsman for the change in grip in their already hands-on job. 

The debate around the fairness of the unconventional stroke was retriggered by former Australia captain Ian Chappell, who said the switch-hit, where batsmen change the order of their hands on the grip, is "blatantly unfair" on bowlers and fielding teams. 

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"The game of cricket is not a science, it’s an art. We’re not perfect," Taufel was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’. "When we say that we want to ban that type of shot how does the umpire officiate that? It’s impossible."

"The umpire has an enormous number of decisions – front foot, back foot, protected area, seeing where a ball is hit – it’s impossible to have an official then watch for the changing of the grip or stance."

"It’s an impossible ask for a standing umpire to make that determination,” Taufel added. "We can’t make a law that we can’t apply."

To Chappell's assertion that switch-hit is "unfair", Glenn Maxwell, a regular practitioner of the shot, defended batsmen who play it to great effect. 

"It’s within the laws of the game," Maxwell said. "I think batting has evolved in such a way that it’s just got better and better over the years which is why we’re seeing these massive scores getting chased down and scores are going up."

(Inputs from PTI)