Cricket has seen a lot of legendary players over the years, and there are many legendary cricketers with exceptional skills that we adore to watch repeatedly. It’s true that playing cricket requires a certain set of skills to master. Being so difficult at the international level that players can either concentrate at either batting or bowling. Maybe that’s why there are very few genuine all-rounders in international cricket. A player who is good at both batting and bowling is an unusual but precious commodity in the game of cricket.
If we talk about the current Indian team, they have struggled to find a good all-arounder for many years now. And it’s the same case with almost every international team. You might be wondering why an all-rounder is so essential.
An all-rounder can not only give you depth in batting by playing as an extra batsman but also bowl some crucial overs in clutch moments and turn the game in their favor. That’s why only a handful of these have gone down in the history books as being all-time great.
Since the inception of cricket, the world has witnessed many cricketing grandstanders that are part of this exclusive group. A genuine all-rounder who can be there for their team for a more extended period of time is like gold dust, and it is challenging to produce but a huge asset if they can manage their workload. So, in today’s blog, we are bringing you some of those gentlemen of cricket who have become ultimate all-around legends.
Kapil Dev (India)
The first-ever Indian captain to lift the auspicious World Cup trophy against all the odds is undoubtedly one of the most elegant all-rounders the world has ever seen. Kapil Dev was known as the Haryana Hurricane by his teammates, and he is the greatest cricketer India has ever produced. Kapil played 131 matches in his Test career and made 5,248 runs at an average of 31 with eight centuries. He also took 434 test wickets at a 29.64 bowling average.
He also represented India in 225 ODI matches, where he managed to score 3783 runs at a batting average of 24 and one century to his name. Kapil Dev also took 253 ODI wickets at the 27.45 bowling average. We can say that India never saw any replacement to this precious replacement.
Jacques Kallis(South Africa)
Let us have a look at his numbers first, and then we are sure we do not even have to justify why Jacques Kallis is one of the best all-rounders of all time.
| Format | Matches | Runs | Batting Average | Centuries | Wickets | Bowling Average |
| Test | 166 | 13,289 | 53.37 | 45 | 292 | 32.65 |
| ODI | 328 | 11,579 | 44.36 | 17 | 273 | 31.79 |
| T20I | 25 | 666 | 35.05 | 0 | 12 | 27.75 |
Jacques Kallis started his career in 1995 and retired as a legend in 2014. For me personally, Jacques is the greatest all-rounder of all time. Thanks to Kallis, South Africa was a composite side that won series after series on home soil and abroad. Kalli was indeed a gift to cricket, not only South Africa, as people love seeing him bat and bowl. Kallis took South Africa out of critical situations many times with the bat in hand. And with the ball in hand, he always gave proteas vital wickets in the middle overs. Not only this, his bucket hands were superb in the slip region to both fast bowlers and spinners.
Ian Botham(England)
Ian Botham from England started his career in 1977 and retired in 1992. Ian Botham is regarded as one of the best English cricketers and best all-rounder in the cricketing world. Often regarded as cricket’s sleeping lion, he played 102 test matches in which he scored 5200 runs at an average of 33.54 with 14 centuries to his name. Ian also took 383 wickets in his Test career. Talking about his ODI career, Botham played 116 matches, and with an average of 23, he played 2113 runs and took 145 wickets.
His heroics in the 1981 Ashes played a significant part in beating Australia. He took 34 wickets, including three fifers, and scored 399 runs with two centuries in the series, and that’s why the 1981 Ashes is also known as ‘Botham’s Ashes’.
Imran Khan(Pakistan)
Imran Khan is another graceful legend who is also regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders the world has ever seen. It is said that Imran was the real power in transforming Pakistan cricket. The former captain is known to play flair and without any fear. It was his drive that Pakistan was able to win the 1992 World Cup against all the odds.
In his career, he played 88 test matches in which he made 3807 runs at an average of 37.69 with six centuries to his name. He also took 363 wickets at a 22.81 bowling average. He also captained the Pakistan ODI team and played 175 matches in which he took 182 wickets and made 3709 runs at an average of 33.41 with one ODI century to his name.
He was often regarded as the champion bowler and a clever batsman. He also had the eye to catch the young talents at their initial stages. Thanks to him, the cricketing world saw Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Aqib Javed, and Inzamam-Ul-Haq.
Endnotes
These are some of the greatest all-rounders of all time that the cricketing world has ever seen. Along with these names, we would also like to give honorary mentions to some other great all-rounders: Sir Garfield Sobers, Richard Hadlee, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock, Sanath Jayasuriya, and many others. We hope you like this list of all-rounders who dedicated their life to cricket and have the knack for making runs and taking wickets in critical situations. We also hope to see many such all-rounders in the future and especially from India. Until next time, Goodbye!