Top 20 Greatest Test All-Rounders of All Time: Imran Khan Leads, Ravindra Jadeja Ranks Fourth
Cricket has always celebrated players who can change a match with both bat and ball. From India’s Kapil Dev and Ravindra Jadeja to Pakistan’s Imran Khan and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, great all-rounders have played a crucial role in Test cricket’s history.
But who is the greatest Test all-rounder of all time?
A statistical study published by Cricbuzz has attempted to answer this question by ranking 30 players who scored at least 2,000 Test runs and took 100 or more wickets. The study uses seven parameters to calculate an All-Rounder Quotient (ARQ), giving equal weight to different aspects of a player’s performance.
The resulting top 20 list contains some expected names and a few surprising positions. Pakistan’s Imran Khan tops the ranking, followed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and West Indies legend Garfield Sobers. India’s Ravindra Jadeja occupies fourth place, while former Indian captain Kapil Dev ranks 16th.
Here is a closer look at the rankings and what they tell us about the greatest all-rounders in Test cricket.
How Does Cricbuzz Rank Test All-Rounders?
The All-Rounder Quotient is calculated by averaging scores across seven statistical categories:
- Volume: The scale of a player’s batting and bowling achievements.
- Home and away: Performance across home and away conditions.
- Average difference: The difference between batting and bowling averages.
- Elite peak: Sustained periods of high-quality performances with both bat and ball.
- Batting impact: The player’s batting contribution and effectiveness.
- Bowling impact: The player’s effectiveness and contribution with the ball.
- Win contribution: The player’s contribution to victories.
The scores are percentile-based, rather than simply reflecting career totals. This allows the study to compare players from different eras and account for how their performances stand against those of other Test cricketers.
However, no statistical formula can completely settle the debate. Fielding, leadership, playing conditions and the strength of a team’s supporting players also influence how an all-rounder is remembered.
Complete List: Top 20 Test All-Rounders
The following rankings and ARQ scores are taken from the Cricbuzz graphic.
| Rank | Player | Country | ARQ score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 68.42 |
| 2 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 66.26 |
| 3 | Garfield Sobers | West Indies | 65.57 |
| 4 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 61.46 |
| 5 | Keith Miller | Australia | 56.95 |
| 6 | Ian Botham | England | 52.98 |
| 7 | Shaun Pollock | South Africa | 52.66 |
| 8 | Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 51.86 |
| 9 | Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | 51.73 |
| 10 | Vinoo Mankad | India | 51.48 |
| 11 | Trevor Goddard | South Africa | 49.62 |
| 12 | Tony Greig | England | 48.36 |
| 13 | Chris Cairns | New Zealand | 48.27 |
| 14 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 46.00 |
| 15 | Ben Stokes | England | 44.12 |
| 16 | Kapil Dev | India | 41.56 |
| 17 | Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 39.45 |
| 18 | Andrew Flintoff | England | 38.88 |
| 19 | Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 37.38 |
| 20 | Jason Holder | West Indies | 36.44 |
1. Imran Khan: The Statistical Leader
Pakistan’s Imran Khan takes first place with an ARQ score of 68.42. His ranking reflects the balance between his batting and bowling achievements, as well as his sustained excellence in home and away conditions.
Imran scored 3,807 Test runs and took 362 wickets. His ability to deliver high-quality fast bowling while contributing meaningful runs made him particularly effective as an all-rounder.
He also performed exceptionally well during his peak years. The study highlights a sequence of 81 Tests in which he averaged above 40 with the bat while maintaining a bowling average below 30.
For Pakistani cricket fans, Imran’s first-place position reinforces his reputation as one of the country’s most influential cricketers. His legacy extends beyond statistics to his role as captain and his leadership of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning team.
2. Jacques Kallis: South Africa’s Remarkable All-Rounder
Jacques Kallis ranks second with an ARQ score of 66.26. His Test record is extraordinary: 13,289 runs at a batting average of 55.37, alongside 292 wickets.
Kallis combined the reliability of a specialist top-order batter with the ability to provide valuable seam bowling. His longevity allowed him to accumulate runs across different countries, conditions and generations of opponents.
His second-place ranking reflects the enormous value of his batting and his ability to contribute with the ball. Although his bowling impact scores lower than that of some specialist bowling all-rounders, his overall record remains exceptional.
3. Garfield Sobers: The Ultimate Versatile Cricketer?
West Indies legend Garfield Sobers ranks third, with a score of 65.57. He scored 8,032 Test runs at an average of 57.78 and took 235 wickets.
Sobers was renowned for his versatility. He could bowl left-arm pace, orthodox spin and wrist spin, offering his captain several options depending on the conditions. He was also an outstanding fielder.
His ranking is particularly interesting because the study concentrates on batting and bowling. If fielding and captaincy were given additional weight, Sobers would have an even stronger case for the top position.
4. Ravindra Jadeja: India’s Highest-Ranked Player
Ravindra Jadeja is fourth with an ARQ score of 61.46, making him the highest-ranked Indian in this particular study.
His greatest strength is consistency. Cricbuzz highlights an extraordinary run of 82 consecutive Tests during which he maintained a batting average above 40 and a bowling average below 30.
Jadeja has become a vital component of India’s Test side, especially on home pitches where his accuracy, variations and ability to extract turn make him difficult to handle. His batting has also developed considerably, enabling him to rescue difficult situations and strengthen the lower middle order.
His fourth-place ranking is a significant achievement because he competes with legends whose careers have already concluded. It also demonstrates why career volume alone cannot determine an all-rounder’s value.
5. Keith Miller: Australia’s Wartime-Era Legend
Keith Miller ranks fifth with an ARQ score of 56.95. His position is especially notable because his international career was affected by the Second World War.
Miller served as a pilot during the war and made his Test debut in 1946, after missing several potentially productive years of international cricket.
Despite his comparatively limited opportunities, he established himself as an outstanding batting and fast-bowling all-rounder. His ranking reflects the quality of his performances rather than simply the length of his career.
6–10: Botham, Pollock, Shakib, Hadlee and Mankad
Ian Botham ranks sixth, with a score of 52.98. The English all-rounder was capable of producing decisive performances with both bat and ball, and Cricbuzz notes his consistently strong scores across the study’s seven parameters.
South Africa’s Shaun Pollock occupies seventh place, combining disciplined fast bowling with useful batting contributions. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is eighth, making him the highest-ranked Bangladeshi player in the list.
Richard Hadlee of New Zealand is ninth. His outstanding bowling impact is a major part of his legacy, demonstrating that an all-rounder need not score enormous numbers of runs to make a substantial contribution.
India’s Vinoo Mankad completes the top 10. One of India’s earliest great all-rounders, Mankad played an important role during the country’s formative years in Test cricket. His contributions to victories are especially impressive in the Cricbuzz model.
11–20: The Other Greats
The second half of the list features players whose careers illustrate different forms of all-round excellence.
Trevor Goddard ranks 11th, followed by Tony Greig at 12th and Chris Cairns at 13th. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin occupies 14th place with a score of 46.00, reflecting his substantial bowling achievements and useful batting.
England’s Ben Stokes ranks 15th, ahead of India’s Kapil Dev at 16th. Wasim Akram, one of Pakistan’s greatest fast bowlers, is 17th, followed by England’s Andrew Flintoff, New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori and West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder.
Kapil’s position is particularly debatable. He scored 5,248 Test runs and took 434 wickets, becoming the only player in Test history to reach both 5,000 runs and 400 wickets. His 16th-place ranking reflects the formula’s combined assessment of several categories, not a dismissal of his achievements.
Why Is Jadeja Above Kapil Dev?
This is one of the most interesting comparisons for Indian cricket followers.
Kapil’s career totals are larger in terms of wickets, runs and longevity than those of many all-rounders. However, the ARQ model also considers performance in different conditions, the relationship between batting and bowling averages, sustained peak performance and contributions to victories.
Jadeja’s exceptional consistency gives him a particularly high score in the Elite Peak category. His ability to average above 40 with the bat and below 30 with the ball across a long sequence of Tests boosts his overall result.
Kapil’s career, meanwhile, was shaped by the heavy burden of leading India’s fast-bowling attack during an era when the team often lacked the depth available to some international rivals. His record deserves to be considered in that context.
The ranking is therefore best understood as a statistical comparison, rather than a definitive judgment about which player was more important to Indian cricket.
Final Verdict: Who Is the Greatest Test All-Rounder?
Cricbuzz’s ARQ model places Imran Khan at the top, followed by Jacques Kallis and Garfield Sobers. Jadeja’s fourth-place finish is particularly notable because it puts an active-era Indian star among the greatest Test all-rounders in the study.
The list also gives recognition to players from across cricketing nations, including Pakistan’s Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, and India’s Jadeja, Ashwin, Mankad and Kapil Dev.
Ultimately, the debate depends on what a fan values most. Imran offers an exceptional balance between batting and bowling. Kallis represents longevity and batting excellence, while Sobers stands out for versatility. Jadeja’s case rests on sustained consistency, and Kapil’s legacy includes his historic contribution to Indian fast bowling.
Statistics can organise the debate, but they cannot completely settle it. That is part of what makes the discussion about Test cricket’s greatest all-rounder so compelling for fans in India, Pakistan and around the world.
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