Sports is about pushing yourself to excellence and giving your all to help you or your team win. In cricket, there are three skill sets that separate different players – bowling, batting, and fielding.
A batsman can score quickly and blow out the opposition bowling attack, a bowler possesses the ability to dismantle the opposition batters, and a fielder can also change the match by inflicting a runout or by taking a good catch. But when a player can do all those things at the highest level, you get an elite all-rounder in cricket who can change the course of the match at any time.
This article will list the best all rounder in the world cricket history.
An all-rounder is the biggest asset of a cricket team and a great all-rounder can make all the difference in a match. Over the years, there have been some players who’ve stepped up to the occasion and dominated the sport at the highest levels. Some of the best all rounder in the world or in cricket history including Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis, Sir Gary Sobers, and more have shown us the true meaning of a player who can bat, bowl, and field.
There are many candidates for the best all rounder in the world, but here we will look at the top 10 all rounder in the world of all time.
Here is the list.
| S.N | Player | Country | Matches | Runs | Wickets |
| 1 | Sir Garfield Sobers | West indies | 94 | 8032 | 236 |
| 2 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 519 | 25534 | 577 |
| 3 | Kapil Dev | India | 356 | 9031 | 687 |
| 4 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 263 | 7516 | 544 |
| 5 | Ian Botham | England | 218 | 7313 | 528 |
| 6 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 586 | 21032 | 440 |
| 7 | Andrew Flintoff | England | 227 | 7315 | 400 |
| 8 | Shaun Pollock | South Africa | 423 | 7386 | 829 |
| 9 | Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 430 | 14406 | 690 |
| 10 | Ben Stokes | England | 259 | 10364 | 298 |
When it comes to the modern era, there are many names that can be considered the best all-rounders in the world, but Ben Stokes edges past them and rules the modern-day all-rounders charts.
In the modern era, he is the most valuable player for England in all different formats of cricket. The 32-year-old has the ability to break any partnership with his bowling, and also hammer opposition bowlers to score quick runs. He has been nicknamed Clutch-Player for his ability to perform whenever the team requires.
He has bailed out his team many times, including his 2019 ODI World Cup final heroics and 2021 T20 World Cup final. The current English captain has many years left in his international career. He will be counted among the best of the best players to ever play for England when he retires.
The modern-era Bangladeshi champion, Shakib Al Hasan, is probably the best all rounder in the world of his era. Ever since making his debut in 2006, he has dominated the ICC all-rounder rankings. He has also been one of the best players to ever play for the Bangladesh national cricket team.
He has transformed cricket in the country and is responsible for the ascension of his team to be a serious contender in ICC events.
There is no comparison to Shakib in Bangladesh when it comes to stats or legacy. Shakib has scored more than 14000 runs and taken close to 700 hundred wickets in his career spanning 18 years. The best part is that he is still actively playing for the country.
South Africa is one of the countries that produces some of the finest cricketers in the world, Shaun Pollock is one of them. The bowling all-rounder from South Africa was one of the most reliable bowlers and was also capable of batting at the fag end.
It was pretty difficult for opposition players to score runs off Pollock because he could switch his bowling tactics according to the conditions and pitch. Apart from brilliant bowling, Pollock also delivered a consistent performance with the bat whenever required. However, he could not convert his starts to big scores and the most centuries he scored was only 2.
In his career, Shaun Pollock scored 7386 runs and took 829 wickets in international cricket.
Andrew Flintoff is seventh on this list of best all-rounders in the world. England’s finest all-rounder was a fantastic sportsperson who gave his all to the game of cricket. Flintoff was a menacing bowler of his day and bamboozled top batsmen with his quick pace.
He could also clear ropes with his sheer power as a batsman. His heroics in the Ashes 2005 series were something to remember.
In a career spanning 11 years, he made 7315 runs in 227 matches and took 400 wickets as well. Even since he retired, there is no one who could take his place in the England team. Perhaps, Ben Stokes comes close.
The next on the list is one of the Sri Lankan greats, Sanath Jayasuriya. Starting as a bowler, Sanath improved upon his batting technique to become a power hitter for the Sri Lanka team. He improved a lot in only a few years and created a name for himself as the best all-rounder in cricket.
His stats will show you that he was a beast when it comes to ODI cricket. He scored more than 13000 runs and took more than 300 wickets in the format. It doesn’t mean he didn’t perform in Test cricket. He scored 6973 runs and took 98 wickets in Test cricket as well.
In ODIs, he changed the definition of the opening batter and smacked the bowlers all around the ground. That is why he is known as the best ODI all-rounder of all time.
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Ian Botham, the best all rounder in the world, was a real-life superstar for the fans. He was a player who created a distinction among players and showed that an individual alone can win a team sport.
In the 1981 Ashes series, he scored 339 runs at an average of 36.27 and took 34 wickets at an average of 20.58. Due to his heroic efforts, England defeated Australia by 3-1 and the series is now known as Botham’s Ashes among fans and experts.
Along with Imran Khan and Kapil Dev, Ian Botham was one of the top all-rounders of his time.
Another legend on this list is Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Finest cricketer ever. He served as an inspiration for the Pakistan Team’s style of play.
Imran was a natural leader who marched his team of courageous players to a World Cup 1992 victory. He was one of the most lethal bowlers at the time and posed difficulties for batters. At that time, the Pakistan fast bowler trio of Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, and Imran Khan was a threatening combination for any team.
In his career, Imran Khan took more than 500 international wickets and scored more than 7000 runs. Apart from these stats, Imran Khan achieved almost everything as a successful captain and player in his career.
India’s greatest all-rounder in cricket, Kapil Dev, is third on this illustrious list. He had a fruitful test career in which he earned the reputation of a consistent bowler and a great batsman.
He became the second bowler in the history of the game to take 400 wickets. He is the only player in the history of the game to score more than 5000 test runs and take more than 400 test wickets.
His 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the semifinal of the 1983 World Cup is still one of the best innings in a knockout game at ICC events. He played a crucial role in India’s campaign in the 1983 World Cup triumph.
After Kapil Dev, India has seen many all-rounders including Ravi Shastri, Mohinder Amarnath, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hardik Pandya, but no one has even been able to replicate what Kapil Dev did for India.
Jacques Kallis is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. His jaw-dropping stats speak for themselves. Scoring more than 10,000 runs and taking more than 250 wickets in both Test and ODI formats of the game makes him the real deal. He also took 131 catches in the ODI and 200 catches in the Test.
As a batsman, Jacques Kallis averages 55.37 in Test cricket, including 45 centuries and 58 half-centuries. He averages higher than the great Sachin Tendulkar – the God of Cricket himself.
He set the standard for all-rounders so high that his stats can be compared to the full-fledged batsman or bowler. His career lasted for 19 years, from 1995 to 2014. Kallis transformed the South African team; he was truly a gifted cricketer.
Kallis was a gentleman and always maintained his composure on the cricket field to set the standard. In 2020, Kallis was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame for his contributions to cricket.
In the 1980s West Indian Side dominated the cricket world and had some of the best players to ever play the game. Sir Garfield Sobers was one of the players who was more dominant than his peers.
He was one of the toughest batters to bowl to, in any condition. The great Sir Don Bradman once described, Sir Garfield Sobers, as a ‘five in one cricketer’ because he excelled at everything he did.
He was the first player to ever hit 6 balls 6 sixes in competitive cricket. He was also the record holder for the highest test score, scoring a massive 365 against a formidable Pakistan team.
Apart from batting, he was also an exceptional bowler, picking 235 wickets in 93 test matches. It was no mean feat for the era he was playing in. Sir Garfield Sobers is also the highest-ever ranked player in the ICC’s all-time all-rounder rankings. He truly is the no 1 all-rounder in the world.
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So, this is the list of best all-rounders in the world including the modern era players as well. The list is based on the impact of a player rather than on stats.
The value provided by an all-rounder in a cricket game of any format is priceless and every team craves quality all-rounders. Some of the world’s best all-rounders are those who can lift their team from a slump whether they are bowling or batting.
Tell us which one of these players you admire and why. Also, you can check out our other articles as well. You can read who hit the longest six in cricket history.
Ans: Jacques Kallis is the only player in history to score more than 10000 runs in ODI and Test cricket and take more than 250 wickets as well. So, he is the no 1 all-rounder in cricket history.
Ans: There are many all-rounders who play for the Indian team but three of the most consistent names are Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hardik Pandya.
Ans: An all-rounder is a person who can perform with both bat and ball. But a batting all-rounder is more capable of batting and scoring many runs than they can do with the ball in hand.
Ans: According to the latest ICC rankings, Ravindra Jadeja is outperforming his peers and gained the top spot in the ICC test all-rounder rankings.
Ans: Indian legend, Kapil Dev was considered the best all-rounder in the 80s. His stats of 687 wickets and 9031 runs in international cricket are a testament to that.
