I agree with every word of Jon Hungin. Apart from being the finest cricketer and the most accomplished captain... his personality, character, courage... the passion.. the radiance... the halo goes beyond cricket.

That is right. He is the best player and captain in Pakistani hisory of cricket. He lead is team into the 1992 worldcup thinking that they havent got a lot of a chance but he managed to lead his side all the way.

there is no doubt that imran khan is top allrounder and captain of all time. only great sir richard hadlee come closest to him, in imran khan's leadership pakistan won many series but most important won the world cup in 92,who can forget his performance in 82 series againt india where on flat pitches he took massive 42 wickets.he is not only the number 1 allounder but also great captain of all time.

Absolutly right. The best alrounder can only be a cricketer who can be selected on the basis of any deparment. Imran fits in all. He has got brilliant average in bowling better than some of the great bowlers, very good batting average especially in the last ten years he averaged 51 with the bat and 19 with the ball. and he was also a remarkable captain.
Sobbers might have a better batting avearge than him but just look at his bowling. would he get in to any team apart from Bangladesh with the bowling average of almost 34. I am afraid not. and he has not done too much as a captain either.
So the greatest alrounder ever has to be Imran Khan.

I completely agree with Jon Hungin. Imran has the best averages with both bat and ball together, amongst all the great all rounders of cricket. Undoubtedly the best leader of men on the cricket field. His influence on Pakistan and world cricket was not any less off the field as well. He has been a role model for young cricketers and such was his leadership that he could get his men together to win the 1992 world cup from a position where they had been written off.
If we are looking for the greatest allrounder of all time, it has to be Imran Khan. He was a undoubtedly a cricketing genius. He had a great cricketing mind and he could pick up players like Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam who proved to be amongst the best in the game of cricket.

All the allrounders are sepcial but if you ask yourself 1 question who would you want as captain? Imran Khan for me. (Although he would lead any bowling attack past or present and play as a top 6 batsmen in any side) As he would inspire the whole team and lead by example with his express reverse swing bowling and batting according to the situation. Imran was simple in that loosing wasn't an option, his aggresive appoach to cricket has set an example to many in the game. To match and compete on par with the great West Indies is mind blowing as you only get judged when playing with the best.

No one can surpass Sobers.

In any such analysis it is important to have ground rules. Firstly to be a genuine all rounder you must have excelled at two disciplines ( batting and bowling) at the same time. That rules out Wilfred Rhodes. Secondly you must have achieved excellence over a sustained period, say 5 years or 30 Tests. Then you need a meausre of comparative success.

For example Sobers was a batting all rounder whereas Hadlee and Wasim are bowling all rounders. One method is to look at the difference between batting and bowling averages. Sobers is about 24, Imran's 15 and Bothams about 4 and Flintoff is nil.

In my opinion, no one can touch Sobers of 1962-68 when he was the world's best batsman, probably the best all round fieldsman and one of the top 5 pace bowlers.

Next would be one of Botham of 1978-82 and Imran of 1982-88. Both was an excelptional fielder too but Imran's captaincy will probably give him the second spot to Sobers.

Couldn't agree with you more... There are other factors that also need to be mentioned...

1. He averaged over 50 with the bat in his last 10 years, and 19 with the ball in the same period.

2. His last ODI was the World Cup final... his last innings was a fifty in very tense circumstances... and his last delivery earned a wicket, giving his "cornered tigers" the World Cup. I dont know of any other cricketer who has done that.

3. He is still probably the best exponent of reverse-swing the game has had.

Imran is pretty much the most complete cricketer on this list... although Sobers is pretty close...

As a New Zealander, I must query why Chris Cairns, one of the great allrounders of the last two decades, was not included in this list, despite his test and ODI stats putting him equal if not ahead of contemporaries such as Flintoff, Pollock, and Akram. A mighty player and a genuine matchwinner, when not in traction for his various injuries of course, he is one of only 6 players to acheive the double of 200 wickets and 3000 runs in test cricket. Surely that warrants his inclusion?

Absolutely hundred percent agreed with Jon Hungin. Imran is one of the most thriving personalities in the history of world cricket-

No disagreements. It s just wonderful. He is a guy who brought the pakistan cricket to the way it is today. Just think about his captaincy. There is no match between him and anyone lese. A true leader a true team maker and a wonderful motivator. If you ask any pakistani about cricket the first thing that comes into mind is IMRAN KHAN. A guy who does not know how to give up.
Well thats just glimps of his personality.
And his record of achivements is not over yet.

You are absolutely right,Jon. Imran Khan is not just a player like the rest of the lot listed here.He is a phenomenon.On the field, in the words of Zaheer Abbas,'he taught us winning a test match, before him our aim was just to draw' and off the field- he inspired a generation of fast bowlers- an eternal supply that Pakistan just keeps on producing of the calibre of Wasim, Waqar,Shoaib,Asif. Fast bowlers who have more variations up their sleeves than even a leg-spinner. So Imran's contribution to cricket's enrichment alone make him uncomparable to all the rest of the lot who were good players but just not any Phenomenon.

Garry Sobers is a far better batsman than Imran with the highest average. He would have also got into the West-Indies team for his bowling alone. He's similar to Imran only the other way around. He was one of many great players to come from the West-Indies. Viv Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Courtenay Walsh, Curtley
Ambrose, Michael Holding, Brian Lara. I think Sobers
just beats Imran. If i were to choose out of Imran
as a bowler or Sobers as a batsman, i would choose sobers.

Imran did things in two halves,first half he was a great bowler,mediocre batsman,second half,he was a fine batsman,but hardly bowled.
All rounder must be the one that does it both at the same time.

Thanks for your notes.
Of course Imran is the best ever "All-Rounder" grace the cricket field.And ofcourse he was as good in the ground , even better outside the ground. Well the first and the most modern Cancer Hospital in this part f the world. His political status, enough to be offered PMship by differnt presidents. And yes he is an ispiration not only to a nation but a whole generation of the world, and yes to billions of third world people.
East or West, Imran is the best.
To me, he is among top 5 Cricketers of the Century(Centuries).
He gives me a feeling of 'proud to be pakistani', and ofcourse there are few who give this feeling.
Remember, he was admired in England more than Botham---yes The Legend Botham in his era.

Imran Khan definitely is the right choice.He played in an era when cricket was being modernized.He was truly among the founding fathers of modern cricket.By comparing him to others one can clearly see that his average with the bat and bowl were better than his peers.Having more wickets and runs doesn't matter it is the consistency in performance which has precedence above all else.Though he has less wickets and runs than his peers yet he maintains the highest averages. His wickets and runs may be less because of the less number of matches played by him, imagine where would his stats have ended had he played as many matches as Kapil or Botham? The only player to introduce neutrality in the game and the only cricketer who captained a turbulent side and kept getting better as an allrounder while others played better under other captains of their respective sides.He started a generation of fast bowlers in Pakistan and most importantly served the game of cricket by making it the most popular game in Pakistan and else where. He left with an enviable world cup triumph in 92. Incredible stuff!

Agreed 100% that Imran is the greatest all rounder of them all. He was probably not as talented batsman as Kapil and Botham, but did better than them in batting average (especially after getting the captaincy). As a bowler he was far better than Kapil, and Botham and at par with Hadlee.
Purely by statistics, I think Botham fits the bill for best all rounder (not Sir Gary) because Botham could have been picked for any team in the world for his batting or bowling whereas Sir Gary would probably miss the team if only his bowling is required

Can definitely agree, but how can you pick andrew flintoff and leave out such players as Chris Cairns, Heath Streak etc

Theres probably only three other all-rounders who compare to Imran Khan (Sir Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham and Jaques Kalliss) and thats only statistically.

But legends are not just made by statistics its the influence they have on there country and the legacy they leave behind.

Ian Botham was probably Englands equivelant but was he a great captain (im not sure)and did Botham unearth two of the greatest fast bowlers of all time (I dont think so) and then theres Inzmamam too.

Only Imran Khan could do what he did.
Theres never been a player like him in International cricket. (World cup winning captain, International playboy, One of the greatest bowlers of his generation and the reverse swing king and above all a great leader)

The Pakistan team has only looked stable with Imran Khan in the helm, there will never be a player like him agian.

Was there any point having this debate.

Ok alot of people throw out the Name Gary Sobers. Nobody even mentions Jacques Kallis. Their stats are almost exactly the same.Sure Sobers took 35 more wickets but he also bowled 7000 more balls than kallis. Bowl alot of balls get alot of wickets, stands to reason. Gary also kept wicket which means he has more catches, please lets face it, any international player has the catching ability to keep wicket at least to some degree of mediocrity. If kallis needed to be keeper he could. One must take into account the type of players they were. Kallis is the epitome of solid and reliable. 20 more fifties than Gary. But gary was the swashbuckling win-you-a-game type guy. But the honest truth is the team wins you the game, no matter what anyone says.

Im not saying Kallis or Gary are the best. But for all you gary lovers out there, please show kallis some recognition.

GREAT BLOG!!

I think in the 3 years prior to 1980 Ian Botham had an average of 40 with the bat and 19 with the ball. That three year spell was the greatest all rounder of all time.
I agree over a period of a career Imran Khan was the greatest all rounder of all time. He could've averaged close to 50 with the bat if his earlier form was like his latter form.
For the future if he sorts his bowling out, Irfan Pathan can become a truly great all rounder.

This is just a general comment on the blog and the people chosen in the Top 20. I think this is a great idea and a ground for endless debate, and am therefore jotting down a few observations about the people selected.

1. I am very surprised to see Ravi Shastri on this list. He is without a doubt one of the key examples of players utilizing their maximum potential but to have him on this list is perhaps a bit too much. He is definitely not in the same class or league. In addition, IMHO, he was one of the most selfish players to play for India

2. In particular, I was a bit surprised to see the following people left out : Alan Davidson, Clive Rice, Eddie Barlow, Mushtaq Mohammad, Frank Worrell

3. The last name qualifies for his brilliance as a captain and for cementing the WI side together, working through racial divides. Mushtaq has won test matches on his bowling (something Shastri has never done), ditto for Eddie Barlow. Alan Davidson could be a tad lower than others in batting, but if you can have Learie Constantine / Richie Benaud (not great batsmen), he can perhaps be considered.

4. Am not sure if Clive Rice was not considered as he had not played any test cricket ?

I am really surprised that Sanath Jayasuriya cannot find a place in top 20. Of course, you cannot compare him with Sobers or Imran , but he is one player who revolutionised the way cricket being played and at 37 still manages to entertain crowds.I am sure he should be in top 10 all rounders list.

Hey,

Seem to have jumped into the debate a litte late, but surely Ravi Shastri’s selection in The Twenty is a travesty. A case has also already been made for the inclusion of Sanath Jayasuriya at Shashtri’s expense.
But I think Shashtri’s replacement should be, someone whose name strangely has not cropped up in discussion on the blog, Andy Flower.

Not only are Flower’s batting averages as good as Gilly’s (slightly better, in fact, in Tests), he has achieved them while shouldering the responsibility of being the batting mainstay in his side (which is not the case for most keepers). Though Andy was a more-than-competent wicketkeeper, there is a massive disparity in the number of dismissals between him and Gilly (or Boucher). But then, it’s far easier totting up impressive number of catches while keeping to McGrath, Gillespie and Warne (or Donald, Pollock and Ntini) than while doing so to Streak, Olonga and Paul Strang. (After all, ‘keepers don’t cause the batsmen to snick the ball, they can merely pouch the catches that come their way.)

Besides this, for a number of matches he was keeper, captain and opening batsman for his side. It’s a wonder he wasn’t asked him to open the bowling with Streak! Throw in an interfering board, a team which was perpetually losing, payment disputes and, most of all, serious political strife in his homeland, and you begin to realize statistics don’t tell the whole tale as far as Flower is concerned. And lastly, was there a better way to end his illustrious international career than with that brave gesture to protest the ‘death of democracy’ in his country?

I think we should see Kallis and Jayasuriya in here as well. Don't forget Jayasuriya's amazing International career. 11,442 runs and 284 wickets in ODI's and also 6000 and more runs in test and 100 wickets. I am surprise not to see him here!! What about all his records that he first set the pace scoring fastest 50's and 100's. He still breaks records as he smashed the worlds fastest 20/20 50 in New Zealend and the leading six hitter in International cricket. Kallis is more balanced player in both forms of games enjoying 8000 more runs and 200 wickets in both Tests and ODI's.

I Believe had Keith Miller played today he would have outshone everyone. He was a total genius, a searing bouncer followed by a ripping offbreak, his magnificent fielding with his freakish catching skills and his devastating batting that produced sixes in an era when crude batting equpment should not have allowed him to do so easily. Statistics dont always tell the truth but with Miller they only help his cause. He was also the finest captain never to lead his country.

For me, Imran was and is the best all rounder of all times. He was one of those players around him any team would gell. And most importantly no one could challenge his authority, not players, not the supporters, and not even the cricket board. And he was always proven right. He brought in Wasim, Waqar, Inzimam, Aaqib, and Mushtaq at very young ages, and they all excelled par excellence. His record as batsman, bowler and captain speaks for its self.
I also agree that if Ravi Shastri can make it on the list, then chris crains, Jayasuria, Mushtaq Muhammd, and kallis also deserves to be on the list.

People forget the fact that Imran was one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket who were both front line bowlers and captain and did both jobs superbly.

In todays game could one do that. Flintoff tried and has failed against the best (Australia) whilst Imran took his game to next level when playing West Indies.

If it wasn't for internal politics Pakistan would have been number 1. His eye for talent was pivital in bringing thru Wasim, Waqar and Inzamam,

Finally the icing will always be the World Cup.

Of course I am biased but in an era of stats it is very funny that the real quality shines through .... Sobers, Hadlee, etc but the achievement of Imran was simply phenomenal....I am very proud of him!!!!!!

Yes, it comes down to Sobers and Imran.Imran outclasses Sobers in one aspect:captaincy & inspiration. He really metamorphosised Pakistan. They achieved heights which they had never dreamt before. It was his 12 wickets in Sydney in 1976 that brought Pakistan its first ever victory in Australia. Under him, Pakistan won test series for the first time both in India & England.And then of course the world cup. He made Pakistan believe that they could produce genuine fast bowlers.And result is an unstoppable supply line.

Very difficult to compare these great players:

Batting average - Sobers 57 , Imaran 37

Bowling average - Imran 22 , Sobers 34

Fielding - Sobers (one of the best ever)

Fitness / Stamina / Athleticism - Sobers never shied away from immense workload and remained fit for most of his career

Captaincy / Charisma - Imran (best ever)

Legacy - Sobers (WI team of late 70's and 80's) Richards, Lloyd, Greenidge,Haynes, Rowe, Holding, Roberts, Marshall, Garner etc.

Imran - Pakistans modern day talents and great fast bowlers....Inzy, Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Shoaib, Yusuf etc.

The young generation who watched Sobers playing believed that they could be great no matter how small their country was......they formed possibly the most powerful team in cricket history....going undefeated in test series for over 15 years home and away.
The lads who idolised Imran and tried to emulate him became amazingly gifted and effective individuals but never gelled into a team that achieved any dominance of world cricket.

Very, very difficult indeed.....

One of the things that strike me is that a great number of players, writers and historians from other countries who saw and played against Sobers consider him the greatest ever whereas Imran's opponents speak of him as great but the superlatives are not heaped on him as is the case with Sobers.

6 CENTURIES IN 21 YEARS!!!!!!!

I can see why people say Imran was the best. However before people say he is better than sobers, take a look at his batting record. People will select the statistic that best backs their point so they will select Immy's average. However he achieved this with lots of half centuries and not outs.

6 centuries in 21 years means that he should not be compared to the GREAT SIR GARFIELD SOBERS.

NB Beefy's 14 centuries is a bit more like that of a proper allrounder

Sorry Tim, if you want to argue about stats then take a closer look at Sobers'awful bowling record: a strike rate of a wicket every 91 balls and an average of 34....I wonder how mnay games he won with the ball....not many I'd wager...best all-rounder ever? Don't make me laugh......time to take off the rose-coloured spectacles. Imran won and saved more matches than any other all-rounder, and but for teh fact that he batted at numbers 9 and 10 until the early '80's, his bating record would have been even more impressive.

How on earth Ravi Shastri make this list. As a bowler he was an average spinner at best and not much better with the bat either. Are we taking names of anyone who has ever batted and bowled ?

And Alan Knot ?? ..he is keeper for pete's sake..

To me the best allrounder thus far is Imran, followed by his protege Akram. Botham, Hadlee and Khallis the next cut. flintoff and pollack and kapil, Chris cains come the cut after.

My reasons are simple, Imran and Akram are way better bowlers than the rest. And as good a bat as any, except may be for sobers or flintoff.

i definitely believe that imran is one of the greatest all rounders of all time...his amazing record of 362 test wickets in just 85-90 tests is remarkable!he was one of the fastest and charismatic fast bowlers during the 70s and 80s.his charm,elegance and exploding talent attracted the attention of millions of cricket lovers around the world.in the 1992 world cup triumph his leadership is noted.surely he is the best allrounder who also happened to captain a team...he united the fragmented pakistani team which was young and had loads of natural talent and lead them to victory...clearly he is my hero and i think the greatest all rounder taking into consideration all the facts of other writers!!

I don't want to keep singing the same tune hear, but I really don't see how Imran's better than Sobers. I know what the problem with Sobers is- his bowling average is a bit higher than it should've been- and someone called Zahid questions his "awful" bowling record and wonders how many matches he won with his bowling. The answer is not many, simply because Wes Hall and Lance Gibbs were the matchwinning bowlers in the team. What Sobers did was win matches off his bat and in the field- generally, the 60s are meant to be the dullest decasde in cricket, so winning 30+ games is pretty impressive. If not for Hall and Gibbs, Sobers would definitely have had better bowling figures. Factor in the fact that he's one of the greatest batsmen ever, one of the greatest fieldsmen ever and THE most versatile bowler ever-offering 3 different options- and he simply has to be the greatest allrounder in the history of the game.

I agree with ayaaz.

As much as Imran is admired and loved......he is not the complete player that the phenomenal Sobers was.

His batting could never match that of Sobers...Bradman himself said that Sobers' 250+ against Lillee and the Aussies 'was the greatest display of batting ever seen in Australia'. Sobers is second only to Lara in test centuries by a West Indian with 26 and well ahead of Lara with a test average of 57+ .

The gap in fielding ability and reflexes is probably even greater than that for batting ability as Sobers has taken some of the most stunning reflex catches close to the bat and had over 100 catches in tests.

Athleticism and fitness again goes to Sobers as he was able to perform at the highest level consistently throughout his career with few injuries.

Imaran the young fit fast bowler would clearly outperform Sobers with the ball.......but how long was he like that for? Sobers was able vary his bowling style and support his main bowlers whatever the conditions.......and this again applied for most of is career.

Finally......the opinions of those who have seen and played much more cricket than we have....
They have placed Sobers at #2 behind Don Bradman in both Wisden's 5 Cricketers of the century and ESPN's Legends of cricket.......Imran is not included in this lofty company.

I don't really see how there can be a FACTUAL argument for Imran being better than Sobers.
Garry Sobers is the most complete cricketer ever.

I can't recall how long Imran served us as a dominant batsman, wicket taker and fielder ALL AT THE SAME TIME (like a true all rounder should)......Sobers did them all throughout his career.

To quote Aussie former captain Ian Chappell:

"The difference between Sobers and the next best all-rounder is the same as that between Bradman and the next best batsman."

Isn't it interesting that those who compliment Sobers most highly are his OPPONENTS (non West Indian).
That rings out so much louder than the voices of loyal countrymen.

I think that the international cricketing community would agree that this "all rounder race" is really for SECOND place.

somebody said he did things in two halves, in the first half he was a mediocre batsman and in second half he was hardly a bowler. well nothing can be farther from truth. read lillee's observation of him in 1975 world cup. its true despite his good avergaes in county intikhab alam used to send him at 9 for reasons known to him only. he had started bowling less with the arrival of waqar and aqib in team, he averaged 19 with ball and 50 with bat in last ten years. . how many time this has to be mentioned!!! there was never a more complete cricketer than imran khan

Look at the Lg ICC career ratings for all-rounders which takes into consideration batting, bowling and the quality of opposition:

Garry Sobers - 669
Ian Botham - 645
Imran Khan - 517

Those are some pretty telling stats..........

I agree with you 100%, on the statistics front, however Shahid Afridi is the most spectacular all-rounder of all-time, no-one can argue with that!

Most of the comments are surely coming from people who did not see Sobers at all and swayed by much better TV coverage of Imran, Botham, Kapil, Hadlee and co. and today,s miserly pseudo-all-rounders.

I simply cannot believe that pretenders such as Kallis, Pollock, Shastri, Jayasuriya, Chris Cairns and so on are termed as all rounders. Take the case of Kallis. He's a fine batsman alright and does bowl occasional meaningful spells and if the ball comes to him he does hold on to it well enough (nothing special about his fielding)- but that's about it.

I really think that due to misfortune in the cases of Miller(not enough coverage and world war II cutting his early years) and Procter(not given the chance), it is a clear battle between Sobers and the four stars of the 80s. To make the matter a little clearer I think it's best that we select the best of the 80s lot. There is no doubt that if performances and respect earned are concerned then Imran Khan comes out on top by a small margin over Botham followed by Kapil Dev and then Hadlee.

Then the issue is between Sobers and Imran. Someone , surely of the many who had not seen Sobers, has commented that his bowling averages is very much inferior to that Imran's. Well they had to be since he was always bowling after messrs. Hall, Griffith, Gilchrist had finished their demolition work. And even then he had to share the spoils with the great Lance Gibbs. Whereas Imran was the spearhead of the Pakistani attack for a long time. And also by his own admission his batting was not that good during the first half of his career and only picked up when injury forced him to refrain from bowling and to concentrate on his batting. So really only for a short was he able to exert his "all rounder" qualities on matches ie. shining with bat and ball at the same time. His real brilliance was that he was a magnificent fast bowler always (except when injured) and could be relied on to play a vital role with the bat if needed. Actually if shining with bat and ball at the same time in matches is the criteria then Ian Botham would be the best as he did this more often than anybody.

There is little doubt that the gap in difference of the batting performances of Sobers and Imran is greater than in the bowling department. Sobers was lethal with the ball when he had to be. In the area of fielding Sobers was simple streets ahead. I also think that captaincy should not be a criteria in an exercise of comparing between players as petty things such as politics, favouritism etc. comes into play when captaincy is considered ie. who is going to captain a team is not always done considering leadership quality alone.

So final verdict - Sobers was the not only the greatest all rounder ever but also the greatest cricketer as well. Imran Khan is the no. 2 all rounder followed by Botham and Kapil. Keith Miller and Mike Procter would definitely figured in the battle for the no. 2 spot with Imran had it not been for their msifortunes.

Well no doubt Imran Khan is the best allrounder of all time. He has self believe and he really did make a difference. And now the most entertaining,spectacular cricketer is Shahid Afridi.
whatever he do every one likes it.6 or zero he is always the best. Well he is great with the ball and bat when its his day. :)
Best wishes

Garry Sobers is the greatest cricketer of them all and The Don is the Greatest batsman. To compare modern day all-rounders to Sobers is almost as blasphemous as comparing the batters to Don Bradman!

He was the most versatile of bowlers, a magnificient athlete and one of the greatest batsmen and fielders of all time - the orginal complete cricketer.

Imran is idolised by the nation of Pakistan whilst Sobers is praised by generations of non West Indians cricketers and commentators as the greatest. That to me says it all.

Having seen them all I can confidently say that no one is even near to Garry Sobers for pure cricketing ability.

All this talk of being an inspirational captain, uniting a nation and being responsible for a new generation of players should not factor into the assessment of all-round cricketing prowess.

For those of you who don't care to remember, the generation of young boys who watched Sobers play grew up to become the most dominant team in cricket history........they went an unbelieveable 15 years without losing a test series at home OR abroad. Does someone here actually think that inspiring Wasim, Waqar and co. could even dream to compare to that of the great west indian team of the 70's and 80's?
Every single player from that regime have said that Sobers is the greatest..........so Imran is still second in terms of the legacy that followed him.

However, Sobers does not need facts like that to support him......he has his amazing feats on the cricket field in addition to the opinions of the NEUTRAL players and commentators who have seen them all over the years.

As Richie Benaud said of Sobers ...."Quite simply the greatest all round cricketer that has ever played"...as he was discussing his greatest 11 team of the 20th century.

In the Wisden 5 cricketers of the century...there was a panel of 100 people. All of the 100 voted for Bradman and 90 voted for Sobers......Richards, Grace and Warne were far down in the voting after those two.
This just goes to show the overall esteem in which the man is held by his peers. He was the second to Bradman and way ahead of the others.........and he was the only all-rounder there!!!!

As someone mentioned earlier........this blog should really be titled....."The second greatest all-rounder".

who says imran hasn't performed well with the bat and ball. Juat look at the faisalabad test where he scored a century, took 10 wickets and was also captaining the team for the 5th time only. This is the example of a great all round performance and also leading from the front as a captain. This was the quality which garry sobers lacked

imran no doubt has the stats and quality of performance to make him the best all rounder of all time.

Rao Iftikhar Anjum is the greatest all rounder.

Great though he was (he'd be in my batting line-up for an all-time Test XI) Sobers wasn't good enough, in my opinion, as a bowler at Test level. A quality team would not be using as a regular in their bowling attack someone averaging in the mid 30s. Thus, in any all-time West Indian XI (let alone World XI), Sobers would never bowl. After all, it is bowlers who win matches - not batsmen. So I'd have Imran 1st followed by Hadlee and then Pollock.

is there anypoint to this arguement?

imran is the greatest that is without question

while sobers played in a outstanding team which made his efforts alot more easier

imran had to galvanise his team from nothing to fight like corner tigers

its very rare to say it but this man had it all

charisma,charm,looks, personality to say the least

also invented the art of reverse swing which now other teams use now thanks to him.

i remember seeing imran for the 1st time

when australia need 3 runs from the last over and he bowled beautifully for pakistan and winning them the game... a quiet mention but where is andrew symonds? or shahid afridi? their both better then flintoff.

but imran is the greatest and this is coming from an australian.

1. Imran Khan
2. Garry Sobers
3. Ian Botham
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Kapil Dev

definately has to be imran...

people above have stated that sobers bowling average was poor because he came in after griffith and hall had done their work. should not have sobers' bowling avg thereby been better, having ahd to bowl at lower middle order and tailenders???

imran was simply the greatest. look at immy's last 10 years, avg. of 51 ithe the bat and 19 with the ball. that is simply AWESOME. any one with those averages would be classified as a serious GREAT in either disciple.

simple IMRAN KHAN WAS THE BEST.

moreover, how many of the 1980's WI team did sobers pick himself or mentor in the team.

whereas imran handpicked wasim,waqar,inzi and mushy. (and aqib javed)

not to mention the fact that immy opened a cancer hosp. for the poor, and is actively attempting to develop his country through politics. add to this imrans oxbrdge eductaion. he was truly an allrounder, not just on the cricket picth, but in LIFE!!!

What Imran Khan Means to PAKISTAN can not be told in words...There is not a single player ever born who meant as much to his NATION...A great Bowler..A batsman who performed always in the crisis...A captain who we pakistanis can only dream to have again...A legacy which will be remembered for ever..Yesss SOBERS was awesome no question but was also backed by the best team at that time. NO question Khan was the BEST....