Who Is the Best All Rounder in the World?

Who Is the Best All Rounder in the World? The Short Answer

Who is the best all rounder in the world right now? It depends on the format. As of October 2026, Ravindra Jadeja of India is the No. 1 Test all-rounder in the ICC rankings. Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan leads in ODIs, and Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe leads in T20Is. In the all-time debate, Sir Garfield Sobers is often called the greatest ever, while Jacques Kallis has the strongest numbers across formats.

Want to know how these lists are built? Read our guide to the ICC cricket ranking system.

Quick Facts About the World’s Best All-Rounders

Here are the key points, based on ICC rankings and official career records:

• Best Test all-rounder today: Ravindra Jadeja (India)
• Best ODI all-rounder today: Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)
• Best T20I all-rounder today: Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)
• Most popular all-time pick: Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
• Strongest numbers across formats: Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
• ICC rating formula: batting rating × bowling rating ÷ 1,000
• Ranking updates: every week

What Makes Someone a True All-Rounder?

An all-rounder can win matches with both bat and ball. Many players do a little of each. A genuine all-rounder earns a place in the team for either skill alone. That is rare, because batters and bowlers usually peak at different ages.

The ICC measures this with a simple formula. It multiplies a player’s batting rating by their bowling rating and divides the result by 1,000. A score above 300 is treated as world-class. The formula does not count fielding.

Best All-Rounder in the World Today: ICC Rankings

The ICC keeps a separate all-rounder list for each format. At the time of writing, the leaders are:

• Tests: Ravindra Jadeja (India)
• ODIs: Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)
• T20Is: Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)

Jadeja is the clear pick in Tests. He has more than 4,000 runs and over 340 wickets in the format. He reached 3,000 runs and 300 wickets in just 74 Tests, which is the second-fastest ever after Ian Botham (72 Tests). He was also part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy wins.

Omarzai and Raza lead the white-ball lists. Both come from teams outside the traditional big three, which shows how wide the all-rounder pool has become. India’s Hardik Pandya, a pace-bowling all-rounder, was part of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad.

Ratings change every week, so check the official ICC rankings page for the latest list.

Greatest All-Rounders of All Time

Current rankings only tell part of the story. These players are the main names in the all-time debate:

• Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies): 93 Tests from 1954 to 1974, with 8,032 runs, 26 hundreds and 235 wickets. He bowled both pace and spin.
• Jacques Kallis (South Africa): 166 Tests, 13,289 runs at 55.37, 45 hundreds and 292 wickets. He also made 11,579 ODI runs and took 273 ODI wickets.
• Kapil Dev (India): 131 Tests, 5,248 runs and 434 wickets. He captained India to the 1983 World Cup title.
• Imran Khan (Pakistan): 3,807 Test runs, 362 wickets and six hundreds. He led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup.
• Ian Botham (England): 102 Tests, 5,200 runs and 383 wickets. He is the fastest to the 3,000-run, 300-wicket double, in 72 Tests.
• Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand): 3,124 Test runs and 431 Test wickets. He held the Test wicket record until Kapil Dev passed him.
• Ben Stokes (England): Retired from international cricket in June 2026. He scored over 7,000 Test runs and took over 200 wickets, a double only Sobers, Kallis and Stokes have achieved.

Sobers vs. Kallis: Who Has the Edge?

Most debates come down to these two. Both averaged over 50 with the bat, and both batting averages sit at least 20 above their bowling averages. That is a very rare combination.

Kallis offers volume and consistency. He scored more than 13,000 Test runs, took 292 wickets, and is the only player with 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. The ICC inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Sobers offers variety and peak impact. He bowled both pace and spin as the match demanded, and he did it while scoring heavily. Many former players still call him the greatest ever.

There is no official verdict. If you value numbers across formats, pick Kallis. If you value all-round skill and match impact, pick Sobers.

Who Is the Best Indian All-Rounder?

Kapil Dev is usually named India’s greatest all-rounder. He is the only player in Test history with more than 5,000 runs and 400 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja is the best India has produced since, and he now leads the world Test rankings.

India’s next generation is also growing. Uttarakhand-born Ayush Badoni, who plays for Delhi and Lucknow Super Giants, is one batting all-rounder to follow. Read his full profile, or see how the state side is doing on our Uttarakhand cricket team page.

Why Opinions Differ on the Best All-Rounder

You will see different names on different lists. This happens for four reasons:

• Players come from different eras, with different pitches, rules, and bowling attacks.
• Test, ODI, and T20I skills are not the same, so a star in one format may rank lower in another.
• Some fans prefer batting all-rounders, while others prefer bowling all-rounders.
• The ICC formula leaves out fielding and captaincy, which can matter a lot.

The Final Answer: Jadeja Today, Sobers or Kallis All-Time

To sum up, who is the best all-rounder in the world? In Tests today, it is Ravindra Jadeja. In ODIs, it is Azmatullah Omarzai, and in T20Is it is Sikandar Raza. For the greatest of all time, Sir Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis lead the debate, with Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Ian Botham close behind.