5 Greatest all-rounders to have ever played the gentleman's game

Cricket has seen many all-rounders who have been instrumental behind their team's victories on numerous occasions.

Be it with the bat, or with the ball, it's the all-rounder whose mere presence during the intense back-breaking situations which helps the team in fending off the humongous pressure from their shoulders.

It is an all-rounder whose absence from the playing XI puts the skipper and even the most experienced players to ponder over the outcome of the riveting contests.

In fact, such is the significance of an all-rounder, that no team can even think of making their way into the grueling competitions without the support of a reliable all-rounder who could rip apart the scathing batting lineup with his bowling prowess or smack the opposition bowlers across the fence when needed.

The game of cricket has been fortunate to have witnessed few all-rounders who were proficient in the art of single-handedly decimating the opposition unit with their all-round dexterity .

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#5 Imran Khan ( Pakistan)

Imran Khan

Regarded as one of the greatest leaders to ever emerged from the sub-continent, Imran Khan makes his name amongst the greatest all-rounders to have graced cricket with his presence.

He was one of the first and the finest exponents of the reverse-swing, who employed his art during his cricketing days to help Pakistan triumph over the rival units on numerous occasions.

Imran's records and statistics speak of the greatness he has achieved in the game of cricket. With 362 scalps in 88 Tests at a bowling average of 22.81 and 3,807 runs at a batting average of 37.69, he is a perfect example for the players from the subcontinent region who wish to become all-rounders in future.

#4 Sir Ian Botham (England)

Bedser and Botham

Sir Ian Botham is England's most prominent personality the gentleman's game has ever witnessed. He was leaps and bounds ahead of his contemporaries and remains one of the greatest mascots to have graced the game.

He is the only second player in the history of the game to have picked up a 10-wicket haul in a match, and a century too in the same game. In his career as a Test cricketer, Botham was a part of 102 Tests, where he picked up 383 scalps with 27 five-wicket hauls in an innings, and 4 ten-wicket hauls in a game.

When it came to batting,

he was an equally potent player, as he accumulated a total of 5,200 runs at an average of 33.54, with 14 centuries and 22 half-centuries.

#3 Kapil Dev (India)

Kapil Dev

The Haryana Hurricane is the reason behind India's triumphant victory in the 1983 World Cup. His blistering knock of 175 against Zimbabwe in the World Cup campaign came at a point when India had zero chances of bouncing back into the scene, and from that knock onwards, they went on to lift the most coveted World Cup.

Talking about his Test statistics, he has 434 wickets in 131 Tests to his name, and 5,248 runs at an average of 31.05 with 8 centuries and 27 half-centuries which make him an exemplary figure in the World of cricket.

With 23 five-wicket hauls in an innings, and 2-10 wicket hauls in a match, it's no surprise for his name to lie so high in the greatest all-rounder category.

#2 Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

Jacques Kallis

The South African legend is regarded by many as one of the finest all-rounders to have graced the game with his presence. In 166 Tests, Kallis accumulated 13,289 runs at an average of 55.37, with a stupendous tally of 45 centuries and 58 half-centuries. Also, he picked up 292 wickets with the ball at an average of 32.65, thereby making him the only all-rounder to score 10,000+ runs along 290+ wickets in the red-ball cricket.

Kallis is second in terms of the leading centurions in the longer format of the game, with the first position being occupied by the great Sachin Tendulkar himself with 51 Test centuries to his name.

#1 Sir Garfield Sobers ( West Indies)

Sir Garfield Sobers

Sir Garfield Sobers tops the charts of being the greatest all-rounder to have ever played the game. Between 1954-74, Sobers was a part of 93 Test matches, in which he scored 8,032 runs at an astonishing average of 57.78 and scored 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries.

With the ball, he picked up 235 scalps at an average of 34.03, with best figures of 6/73. Certainly the greatest all-rounder ever for a reason.