Where would Imran Khan rank amongst the greatest all-rounders and cricketers of all-time??

[Harsh Thakor]

Without doubt Imran Khan was a cricketing collosus the most charismatic cricketer of his generation posessing a suave nobody of his generation posessed.He posesssed an in built magnetism no cricketer of his time posessed combined with determination of a military commander.He shaped the destiny of his nation more than an any cricketer did in the last 4 decades as a cricketer and leader.Witnessing Imran blazing in with a cricket ball was one of sport's ultimate sights where he held a red cherry like a Greek gladiateur carrying a sword.Imran in full cry was the ultimate epitome or definition of competitiveness or agression in sport.

 

Imran pioneered the art of reverse swing thus giving pace bowling another dimension.No bowler before swung the ball as much as such a lightning pace.Ian Chappell felt that in 1981-82 down under he bowled quicker than even Jeff Thomson.Imran's magnificent bowling ripped the heart out of the Australian batting at Sydney in 1976-77 capturing 12-165 and enabling Pakistan to win a test and draw a series on Australian soil for the 1st time.He went on to capture a record haul for a Pakistani bowler of 25 wickets in a series in West Indies troubling the likes of Greenidge,Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards  like no pace man did overthere.In subsequent years he achieved incredible feats of capturing 21 wickets in 3tests  in England in 1982 40 wickets  in a six test home series v India at an average of 13.95,to0k 23 wickets in 3 tests in the Carribean in 1988.In Karachi and Hyderabad in 1982-83 he bowled arguably the most explosive spell in the history of test cricket when he tore the flesh of the Indian middle order like a tiger tearing his prey.I can never forget his 5-3 spell at Karachi when he pierced through the gate of the great Sunil Gavaskar and bowled Vishwanath shouldering arms.On that day simply  took the art of pace bowling in regions of the  unexplored or sublime ,creating impact of lightning and thunder.Never was such sustained pace combined with such movement before in the history of the game.Hi s other most defining spells were his 7-40 at Leeds in 1987 and 7-80 at Trinidad in 1988.No paceman was as successful against the best team of all-time,the West Indies.- against whom he captured 80 wickets at an average of around 21.Statistically in peak era he was the bests of paceman but still Morally I feel Hadlee did better considering the weight he carried of the team shoulders of the bowling attack.Staistically the best Pakistani bowler of all -time and close to the best ever fast bowler but not as complete or versatile as Wasim Akram who was a better exponent of the yorker and outswinger or even Dennis Lillee or Andy Roberts.

 

Although not so flamboyant in his later years Imran became a world class batsmen ,who could carry the responsibility of his team's batting on his shoulders.I can never forget his consistency in India in 1987 when he averaged above 60 and played a most crucial knock in the 2nd innings on bad wicket at Bangalore .He also was at his best as a batsmen in England in 1982 at Leeds in difficult conditions and also in Australia in 1983-84 when he scored 2 fifties.Imran was also a very effective ODI batsmen which he revealed in the 1983 and 1992 world cups.His batting won Pakistan a place in the semi-final of the 83 world cup and won Pakistan the 1992 world cup .He revealed impeccable technical skill with an articulate defence.Imran's 102 v Sril Lanka in 1983 world cup and 70 in the 92 world cup final will win a Permanent place in the annals of Pakistani cricket.Imran could build an innings better than any all-rounder of his time .Imran also has a match-saving unbeaten century to his name against West Indies at home in 1980.Imran averaged 72 with the bat in his last 4 years but that figure is boosted by many not outs as he did not score anywhere as many hundreds and fifties as the all-time great batsmen .

 

Above all it was Imran who led Pakistan to their 1st series victories on Indian and English soil and morally win the unofficial test world championship in West Indies in 1988 whee bad umpiring robbed Pakistan of a historic series victory to become the 1st team to win a seriesin the Carribean for 15 years.He also led Pakistan to win their 1st world cup in 192 ressurecting his team from the grave to reach the pinnacle of glory.In his ear no cricketer could galvanize the rescources available to create a team of world -beaters like Imran who posesed the leadership skills of a military marshall.One of the 6  greatest captains in the history of the game .

 

Imran Khan made a ressurection in International cricket in the manner of a Muhammad Ali in 1985.after missing 2 years due to a hamstring injury.In spells versus West Indies at home in 1986 and England in 1987 he bowled as well as he ever did in his career and after 1988 became one if the best batsmen in the world.

 

With Viv Richards Imran was the most impactful cricketer of his era and in his peak era the best of the 4 all-rounders from 1980-88.As a cricketer overall he is held in better esteem than Ian Botham ,Jacques Kallis or Keith Miller but still below the giant Gary Sobers as well as Shane Warne ,Adam Gilchrist,Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards.To me because of his achievements as a captain Imran would rate overall ahead of Botham,Hadlee,Kapil ,Miller and Kallis but still be just marginally below the likes of Viv,Sachin and Warne.Viv could change the complexion of agame marginally more or even Warne while Tendulkar had more longevity.Sobers took all-round cricketing skill to heights of the divine,unexplored till this day.Geoff Armstrong ranked Imran at 4th place amongst the 100 best cricketers of all time ahead of Tendulkar,Viv Richards and Jack Hobbs.Chris Martin Jenkins ranked him at no 14 and John Woodcock at no 16.I may place Imran at around no 11 or 12 as a cricketer.just below Viv and Sachin.In selection of al-time cricket world xi's 21 cricketers have selected Imran in the all-time xi.only behind Sobers amongst all-rounders.

 

As a pure all-rounder I sill rate Sobers atleast a notch ahead with his phenomenal or superlative all-round skill and ability to turn games with both bat and ball.Sobers was far ahead as a batsmen , almost as talented or versatile as a bowler and a better fielder.Imran overshadowed Ian Botham in both series played against him in England in 1982 and 1987 and in 2 out of 3 series won his battle with Kapil Dev in 1982-83 and 1987.Botham at his peak was marginally better than Imran at his best and like Sobers could win games more with both bat and ball. Botham was amore flamboyant batsmen as well as Kapil Dev.Kallis had the best all-round figures but lacked as much match-winning prowess of Imran.Hadlee was by a whisker ahead as a bowler but not Imran's match with the bat.Miller like Sobers was a better batsmen and like Botham more effective with both bat and ball in same match or period.For sheer consistency Imran would overshadow Botham and as a match-winner would defeat Kallis.What went against Imran was that he not at his best with both bat and ball .From 1980-1988 Imran was without doubt the best all-rounder .To me the Imran of 1980-88 was just a whisker below the Botham of 1977-82 or Miller in his. best era.Considering the strike rate of his era Sobers in his best period  from 1960-68 was still a class ahead.As a pure all-rounder Imran was at his best overseas in England in 1982 when he scored 318 runs at an average of 53 and captured 21 wickets at an average of 18.53.Overall he was at his best at home v India in 1982-83 taking 40 wkts at 13,95 and averaging 61 with the bat.Still Imran at his best was mainly a fast bolwing al-rounder and turned games or series much more wit the ball than the bat whether in England ,Australia,West Indies or at home.On statistics he is only behind Sobers and Kallis but unlike Miller and Botham was not at his best in matches and series with both bat and ball.Still overall as a match-winner perhaps only behind the likes of Sobers,Warne and Viv.

 

Imran would be selected in my 2nd all-time world xi with my Ist XI choosing Sobers and Wasim.However too accompany Sobers in the all-time team I would prefer Imran to Botham as he would be a better foil for Gary with his great skill as a pace bowler. If it was a post-1970 world xi then I would automatically select Imran as a captain.Somehow I feel Hadlee would be the ideal choice to accompany Sobers and Wasim in the all-time 1st xi .Although Botham could turn games more as a genuine all-rounder and Kallis had more all-round skill I would prefer Imran or Miller at no7 as fast- bowling all-rounders are the ultimate match-winners.I repeat again in an all-time  team of the last 50years without Sobers Imran would win place in team purely as a leader.

 

 

Thus as a cricketer I rank Imran behind just Grace,Bradman,Sobers,Warne,Hobbs,Tendulkar,,Viv Richards and Sydney Barnes.Ahead of Mcgrath,Lillee,Kallis,Gavaskar,Akram,Gilchrist or even Lara.As an all-rounder below Gary Sobers and Keith Miller and arguably at no3 surpassing Botham for consistency and Kallis for match-winning flair.Possibly a virtual dead heat for no 3 spot.

 

Stats compiled from S.Rajesh of cricinfo

 

During his peak years in Test cricket, Imran was easily the best allrounder among his peers. In the nine years between 1980 and 1988, his bowling average of 17.77 was almost 22 lesser than his batting average - the difference was clearly the best among those with 1500 runs and 100 wickets during this period. Hadlee's bowling performances were exceptional during this period, but he couldn't quite match up to Imran with the bat, while both Botham and Kapil had far lesser success with the ball.

 

One of the highlights of Imran's career was his battles against the best team of his times, West Indies. As a batsman he wasn't as effective against them, but as a bowler he was superb, taking 80 wickets at 21.18. Comparing the stats of the four superstar allrounders of that era against West Indies, it's clear that three of them raised their games against them - Hadlee and Kapil too had terrific numbers against them - but the disappointment was Botham, who struggled with both bat and ball.

 

 

In his last three years in Test cricket Imran didn't bowl much, averaging only about 25 overs per Test, but his batting went to a new level altogether, as he went past 50 nine times in 20 innings.

 

Imran Khan's Test career

Period	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s	Wickets	Average	5WI/ 10WM
Till Dec 1979	25	832	22.48	0/ 1	98	31.88	5/ 1
Jan 1980 to Dec 1988	48	2028	39.76	4/ 10	236	17.77	18/ 5
Jan 1989 onwards	15	947	72.84	2/ 7	28	33.53	0/ 0
Overall	88	3807	37.69	6/ 18	362	22.81	23/ 6

 

 

 

The four allrounders against West Indies

Player Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM Imran Khan 18 775 27.67 1/ 3 80 21.18 6/ 1 Richard Hadlee 10 389 32.41 1/ 1 51 22.03 4/ 1 Kapil Dev 25 1079 30.82 3/ 4 89 24.89 4/ 1 Ian Botham 20 792 21.40 0/ 4 61 35.18 3/ 0

 

Top allrounders between 1980 and 1988 (Qual: 1500 runs, 100 wickets)

Player	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s	Wickets	Average	5WI/ 10WM	Diff in ave
Imran Khan	48	2028	39.76	4/ 10	236	17.77	18/ 5	21.99
Richard Hadlee	51	1987	31.04	2/ 10	284	19.03	28/ 7	12.01
Ian Botham	72	3989	34.38	10/ 19	255	31.83	15/ 2	2.55
Kapil Dev	72	3103	31.98	5/ 16	242	30.05	14/ 2	1.93
Ravi Shastri	61	2702	34.64	7/ 10	132	38.24	2/ 0	-3.60

 

In fact, extending this analysis to all Test cricket, only Sobers had a higher difference between batting and bowling averages (among those with at least 3000 runs and 200 wickets, and two wickets per Test). Jacques Kallis is the other allrounder who has more than 3000 runs and 200 wickets - and a huge difference between batting and bowling averages - but for much of his career Kallis has been a batsman who bowls a bit: his 266 wickets have come from 140 Tests, an average of less than two wickets per match.

 

Best allrounders in Tests (Qual: 3000 runs and 200 wkts; at least two wkts per Test)

Player	Tests	Runs	Average	100s	Wickets	Average	5WI	Diff in ave
Garry Sobers	93	8032	57.78	26	235	34.03	6	23.75
Imran Khan	88	3807	37.69	6	362	22.81	23	14.88
Shaun Pollock	108	3781	32.31	2	421	23.11	16	9.20
Ian Botham	102	5200	33.54	14	383	28.40	27	5.14
Richard Hadlee	86	3124	27.16	2	431	22.29	36

Edited May 3, 2019 by Harsh Thakor

[rtmohanlal]

Don't know where to rank him as of now .Yet even  with out taking 'tampering' aspect into account , my top 3 would be

Kallis,Sobers,Kapil in that order. With 'tampering'  coming into play , would rank him behind Miller & Botham too.

I think you needed to provide the option of 'behind Kallis,Sobers,Kapil,Botham,Miller' too.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by rtmohanlal

[Harsh Thakor]

10 minutes ago, rtmohanlal said:

Don't know where to rank him as of now .Yet even  with out taking 'tampering' aspect into account , my top 3 would be

Kallis,Sobers,Kapil in that order. With 'tampering'  coming into play , would rank him behind Miller & Botham too.

I think you needed to provide the option of 'behind Kallis,Sobers,Kapil,Botham,Miller' too.

 

Sobers behind Kallis?Sobers had more all-round cricketing ability and was far more impactful-greater match-winner.Even Imram beter turner of games .

[putrevus]

Imran was never a dual threat like Kapil or Botham. His batting average is inflated due to his late resurgence after 1987 which was only possible becuase he was captain of his team.

 

Those people who have no clue on what allrounder means rate this guy as one among the best.He scored 2 hundreds in his first 60 tests.Botham by comparsion had 11 100s and 13 fifties in his first 60 tests. Imran at his best could hold one end.One has to account career of Imran and how few tests he played thereby having such a light work load.I would never call Imran Khan as an allrounder.He or Hadlee never had that ability to with bat.

 

If he had no reverse swing, I highly doubt he would have ended up with those glittering bowling stats.

 

Sobers and Imran should never be used in the same sentence, Mr.Harsh stop glamorising Pakistani players,Majid Khan best opener give me a break.

[rtmohanlal]

5 hours ago, Harsh Thakor said:

Sobers behind Kallis?Sobers had more all-round cricketing ability and was far more impactful-greater match-winner.Even Imram beter turner of games .

Sobers-Kallis is such a close call for me. As of now it is Kallis by a bit because all said and done Kallis lags Sobers only by 1 in no: of 5 wkt hauls(5:6) .Kallis has a bowl str: of  69.2 to Sobers 91.9(in tests str: holds  more weightage).And Kallis has much longevity when compared to Sobers. He had much word load too in that he played one dayers to great success too.So all in all , Kallis still a  bit in front as of now. But again, this opinion  can even change   if I further go deeper into their stats  because it is such a difficult one to  conclude.As of now in my mind it is Kallis by a bit. 

If we go thru the series wise averages of Kallis, there are so many  series in which he averages hugely in batting and adequately in bowling(his weaker discipline)  for a batting all rounder.

 

I don't rate Imran as I used to be. Even with out 'tampering' factor he would be behind Kapil for me , let alone Kallis. As 'muloghonto' once pointed out, this cheater even exploited his captaincy  to suit his own selfish motives, ie: he would bowl with the new ball, then  keep away from bowling hard middle overs and would again turn out  when the ball becomes older so that he can use his expertise with 'the bottle top'   on the ball to boost his stats.And Imran's batting too is hugely inflated by high percentage of not outs.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by rtmohanlal

[Mirpur express]

Imran was far greater than Kapil also he was good looking unlike Kapil.

[rtmohanlal]

26 minutes ago, Mirpur express said:

Imran was far greater than Kapil also he was good looking unlike Kapil.

yes greatest w.r.t 'ball tampering'

[sandeep]

31 minutes ago, Mirpur express said:

Imran was far greater than Kapil also he was good looking unlike Kapil.

Well Kapil was a much better ODI batsman, but nowhere near as good as Imran with a bottle-cap.  

[Mirpur express]

Damn Immy. They still cannot forget phainty's of 82 and 87. Many more phaintas to come.

[First class]

I always look for negative comments against a Pakistani cricketer here and never been disappointed , doesn't matter even its Imran Khan.

In my personal opinion I would rank Manoj Parabhakar above Imran Khan simply due to his sheer pace.

[Real McCoy]

He is way down behind Venky Prasad, Ian Harvey and Ronnie Irani

[Nikola]

Should be in top 5 all rounders of all time. He had pace, accuracy, swing, reverse swing (bottle caps) but as bowler he would have done good in most era. As test batsman he was good for his position. Only controversial thing is how he would have performed without bottle caps? i think not as good as he did but still good enough to be in top 5 all rounders of all time. 

 

My first three would be Sobers, Keith Miller & Kallis. Botham at his peak would be at top but he became far too avg in end of his career.

[Straight Drive]

My rating from those who I have watched

 

Sobers

Kallis

Kapil

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bahubali]

11 hours ago, Mirpur express said:

Damn Immy. They still cannot forget phainty's of 82 and 87. Many more phaintas to come.

Many of us were not born than uncle ji. Ever since we started watching we caught Pakistani pants down against us in WC and that includes your great immi during 92 WC.

[rtmohanlal]

6 hours ago, First class said:

I always look for negative comments against a Pakistani cricketer here and never been disappointed , doesn't matter even its Imran Khan.

In my personal opinion I would rank Manoj Parabhakar above Imran Khan simply due to his sheer pace.

Didn't you come across these same   negative comments against same  Pakistani cricketer by Pakistani players themselves let alone others??? Aamer Sohail,Rameez Raja,Sarfraz Nawaz,Sadiq Mohammed,Shahbaz Shareef ,Akhtar all have openly admitted directly or indirectly w.r.t the tampering experts of  prime minister saahib.

[bahubali]

12 hours ago, Mirpur express said:

Imran was far greater than Kapil also he was good looking unlike Kapil.

So why don't you get marry to that womaniser.

[First class]

16 hours ago, Straight Drive said:

My rating from those who I have watched

 

Sobers

Kallis

Kapil

 

 

 

 

 

 

So never watched Imran Khan ?

[First class]

16 hours ago, rtmohanlal said:

Didn't you come across these same   negative comments against same  Pakistani cricketer by Pakistani players themselves let alone others??? Aamer Sohail,Rameez Raja,Sarfraz Nawaz,Sadiq Mohammed,Shahbaz Shareef ,Akhtar all have openly admitted directly or indirectly w.r.t the tampering experts of  prime minister saahib.

You guys need to open your minds and be  true cricket followers across political boundaries. Keep politics for other forum. 

[Vijy]

Ball tamperer he may have been, but Immy was a great all-rounder nonetheless. With that said, he was not as good as Sobers, Faulkner or Miller. He was also less than peak Botham and peak Kapil, although if we take the entire career, he was better than this duo.

[First class]

4 hours ago, Vijy said:

Ball tamperer he may have been, but Immy was a great all-rounder nonetheless. With that said, he was not as good as Sobers, Faulkner or Miller. He was also less than peak Botham and peak Kapil, although if we take the entire career, he was better than this duo.

IK was bad, took 40 wickets in a series against India on a flat surface, but our some Kapil was better, because he was ours.