Imran Khan beats Sobers and Kallis to top Cricbuzz's greatest Test all-rounder ranking

Imran Khan tops the all-time charts

In terms of pure numbers, based on numerous analyses, it is Imran Khan who ranks the all-time No.1 Test all-rounder, marginally ahead of Jacques Kallis and Sir Garfield Sobers. The verdict comes from Cricbuzz's two-part statistical study into the greatest Test all-rounder, which rates 30 players who managed a double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in the format with acceptable averages in either discipline.

The first instalment of the series, published on October 18, 2026, scored players across seven key parameters — volume, win contribution, batting and bowling impact among them. This second part explains what separates the three standout names from the rest, and why prominent modern and past all-rounders such as Ben Stokes and Kapil Dev do not crack the top 10.

The fielding and captaincy curveballs

Reader Prins S, whose username "prinsofalltrades" drew a wry acknowledgement from the analyst, posed a question echoed by several others: "I know you have taken the traditional meaning of an all-rounder, but can we not extend it to fielding as well? I feel it is an underappreciated aspect of cricket."

Close-in catching — in the slips, short-leg and silly-point — forms the key fielding credential in Tests. Among the 36 players with the 2,000-run/100-wicket double, the top four in catches per innings are Tony Greig (0.813), Ian Botham (0.67), Kallis (0.634) and Sobers (0.633). Stokes ranks 10th, while Ravindra Jadeja (0.282) sits 20th, just ahead of Kapil (0.278).

With a 40-match minimum (excluding wicketkeepers), Greig ranks fourth of 396 players for catches per innings, behind only Bob Simpson (0.94), Steven Smith (0.929) and Stephen Fleming (0.859). Stokes is 97th and Jadeja 251st.

On captaincy, nine of the candidates led in 25 or more Tests: Imran (48), Stokes (44), Sobers (39), Jason Holder (37), Kapil (34), Daniel Vettori (32), Richie Benaud (28), Shaun Pollock (26) and Wasim Akram (25). Benaud leads the win-loss ratio with 3, followed by Pollock (2.8), Imran (1.75), Akram (1.5), Stokes (1.33) and Sobers (0.9). Factor fielding and captaincy together, and Sobers would actually top the list — but the study stuck to the two primary disciplines given limitations across the set, which includes Keith Miller, Richard Hadlee, Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin among those who never captained.

What makes Imran No.1

Responding to reader Salman Azmi's "big one" — "What makes Imran greater than Sobers, Kallis and the rest?" — the analysis points to one keyword: balance. Only Imran, Botham and Shakib Al Hasan rank in the top 15 in each of the seven categories. Imran ranks second only to Hadlee in bowling impact while placing 12th in batting. By contrast, Kallis and Sobers rank 29th and 26th respectively on the bowling front.

Sobers' bowling strike-rate of 91.9 is the 12th worst among the 206 bowlers with 100-plus Test wickets. Kallis, operating in attacks led by Allan Donald, Pollock and Dale Steyn, falls behind on percentage of wickets contribution. Kallis scores a perfect 100 on the aggregate measure, well ahead of Ashwin (74.29), with Sobers fifth at 66.53.

Imran's "Elite Peak" seals the case: an 81-match run in which he averaged 40.07 with the bat and took 348 wickets at 22.23. Across his final 52 Tests he aggregated 2,516 runs at 51.34 and claimed 218 wickets at 19.16. For context, Kallis' best 40-plus batting / sub-30 bowling streak spanned 76 Tests (45.8% of his 166), while Sobers managed 46 of 93 (49.5%).

The Kapil Dev dilemma

Reader Neelesh Potnuru argued: "I think Kapil Dev should be in the top 10. He operated as a lone wolf pacer unlike the rich attacks from Pakistan and the SENA countries." Kapil's 5,248 runs and 434 wickets make him the only player in history with a 5,000-run/400-wicket double in Tests; Botham finished with 5,200 runs and 383 wickets, while Pollock has the next most runs (3,781) among 400-wicket bowlers. Yet Kapil ranks just 16th overall — 12th on bowling impact, behind Hadlee, Imran and Ashwin, and a statistical shade above Chris Cairns, who finished with 3,320 runs and 218 wickets in 62 Tests.

The study concludes that Imran's consistent rating across all parameters — and his superior home-and-away split on both batting and bowling combined — lifts him clear, with Kallis and Sobers standing miles ahead on pure batting but dragged down by their bowling numbers in isolation.