Is Imran Khan a greater all-rounder than Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee? Stats prove it

Imran Khan, as the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, might be polarizing world opinion with his policies. But, when you look back at his achievements as a cricket player and all-rounder, they are staggering. Imran Khan’s dominance came at a time when there were two dominant trends in world cricket. During the 80s, the sport saw the total dominance of the West Indies. In that period, there was a golden quartet of great all-rounders. If you thought that the Fab 4  in world cricket in modern times is something else, then the golden quartet of all-rounders in the 80s made cricket a brilliant sport.

Apart from Imran Khan, there was Kapil Dev, Sir Richard Hadlee, and Sir Ian Botham who dominated the cricket world. All four were exceptional with both bat and ball.  Three out of the four even had captaincy stints, with Hadlee being the only exception. But, when one looks at the longevity and the numbers that Imran Khan possessed, it was simply staggering.

Imran Khan vs Kapil Dev Stats

Imran Khan was the only individual among the fab 4 to have made his debut at the start of the 70s. Hadlee came towards the middle while Botham and Kapil Dev all made their debuts during the end of the 70s. Even when one looks at the other gold standards of all-rounders like Jacques Kallis, Sir Garfield Sobers, only one had a two-decade. Kallis had a 19-year international career while Sobers was in international cricket for 20 years.

Imran Khan has had the longest span when it came to an all-rounder. He had 21 years of international cricket from 1971 to 1992. When he was on the scene, Pakistan was served by the brilliance of Zaheer Abbas. But, from his time, there would be a core of players who would serve Pakistan in a great capacity for close to 20 years.

Agreed, Kapil, Hadlee, and Botham all had more wickets than Imran with 434, 431, and 383 respectively. Kapil and Botham outshone Imran with the bat. But, a deeper look into his numbers reveals a different picture.

Imran Khan and his Numbers vs Kapil Dev, Sir Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham

Now, when one looks at all-rounders, there would be a certain passage of their career where one facet would dip. Either the batting or the bowling would go downhill towards the end of their careers. But, this is not the case with Imran Khan. After he played his seventh Test and all the way up to his 88^th, Imran Khan’s batting and bowling average were over 40 and under 30 respectively. That is a staggering piece of consistency if there ever was.

But, the unique thing about Imran Khan was that he got better as his career came to an end. A look at his stats from his last six playing years suggests he was simply the best. For the sake of sample size, we are looking at years where he played three or more matches and not less.

Note: In the last six years of their careers, Imran and Hadlee got better. (Sample size: Years, where they played one or two matches, is not considered. Minimum cut-off is three matches)

Imran Khan ahead vs Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Sir Richard Hadlee

When one looks at the numbers, Imran Khan is far ahead of the Fab 4 when it comes to both batting and bowling. With the bat, he is the only individual to average close to 50. With the ball, he averages 23.36 but that is only bettered by Richard Hadlee, who averages 22. But, Hadlee never crossed an average of 30 with the bat in his entire career and perhaps, that goes against him. Kapil Dev and Ian Botham are far behind. In their final playing days, Botham in particular struggled while Kapil had a middling path.

Imran Khan vs Kapil Dev Stats in Captaincy

Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, and Imran Khan all had captaincy stints. The numbers once again paint a great picture in favor of Imran Khan. If one looks at his captaincy numbers as well as the team’s performance in the 80s, this is where the real impact has come.

As a captain, Imran became better both as a batsman and a bowler. He is the only player among the trio to average over 50 with the bat and just over 20 with the ball. Botham had a real struggle as captain. The only individual who matched Imran in that period was Kapil Dev.

It reflects on the team performances as well. Apart from the West Indies who had a dominant 80s, it was Pakistan and India who were close. In fact, Pakistan was the second-best team in the world with a Win/Loss ratio of 2.25. India was third with a ratio of just over 1.

The 80s had seen great success for both India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and England. England managed to win the Ashes both in England and in Australia, thanks to the exploits of Botham. India managed to win the 1983 World Cup and also win a series in England. New Zealand won the series in England and Australia thanks to Hadlee. But, Pakistan was the only team in that decade to draw three series against the mighty West Indies. They also won a series in England and dominated India but they never got over the line against Australia. In short, Pakistan was the second-best team in the world behind West Indies.

Imran Khan vs Kapil Dev vs Ian Botham and Sir Richard Hadlee Overseas

Imran Khan’s best achievement is most notably his performances in overseas countries. He managed to take five and 10-wicket hauls in all countries barring Sri Lanka. With the bat, his highest score came overseas when he hit 136 in Australia. The numbers reflect that. The overseas records of Imran are far better, with Hadlee only topping him with the ball.

Imran is the only all-rounder to average over 30 with the bat and just over 25 with the ball. The only individual who tops him in the bowling average is Hadlee with 21. But, the numbers do not reveal the true impact that Imran had on the culture of the Pakistan cricket team.

Imran Khan and Kapil Dev – Two inspirational people in Pakistan and India

Imran was the individual who instilled a sense of bravery and confidence in a team that was marred by infighting. The fact that he could unite volatile tempers like Javed Miandad and become the mentors to future greats like Wasim Akram, Inzamam ul Haq, and Waqar Younis spoke volumes of his brilliance. His ‘Cornered Tigers’ speech apparently to the team in 1992 was a symbol of what he could do. Wearing a Tiger outfit for the toss, Imran managed to galvanize Pakistan and pull them out of the brink of elimination. His performances in clutch moments helped Pakistan win the 1992 World Cup. It was the final hurrah to one of the best.

On the numbers front, there is no one better than Imran in the fab 4. On his 69^th birthday, it is worth paying a tribute to one of the greatest players in the history of the game.