Who are the best all-rounders of this generation?
History has proved that all-rounders play a significant role in a team's victory. Be it Kapil Dev in India's World Cup triumph in 1983, Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup or Shahid Afridi in the 2009 World T20. Importance of an all-rounder in test cricket is no different. Let us have a look at some top all-rounders from the current generation of players.
Who exactly is an all-rounder?
Generally, all batsmen are required to bowl when demanded of them and vice-versa with bowlers who also contribute to adding the runs. However, an all-rounder is someone who can bat in the top six and also has an ability to display a match-winning bowling performance.
At the top of the list
Shakib Al Hasan dominates the ICC's all-rounder rankings in Tests and T20Is. While Bangladesh does not play many tests, he is one of the only three players to have scored a century and picked up 10 wickets in the same test match. In Tests, Hasan has 3594 runs and 188 wickets, with a batting average of 40.38.
India's top ranked all-rounder
Ravindra Jadeja has emerged as one of the best all-rounders in the world in recent years. So far this year, he picked up 44 test wickets and scored 288 runs. With an overall 155 wickets, Jadeja has scored 72 percent of his runs when Indian won the match. Jadeja is the ICC's top-ranked test all-rounder from India, and also the top-ranked Indian bowler.
India's best all-rounder?
Ashwin continues to be among top 3 test all-rounders, despite a not-so-great 2017. He has 292 wickets and 2035 runs to his name. More than half his runs came when India won, and has picked up 211 wickets in winning cause at an average of 19.77. Earlier this year, he also became the fastest player to reach 250 wickets and 2000 runs in Tests.
England's top all-rounder
26-year old Ben Stokes has 2429 runs, including six centuries and 95 wickets in 39 Test matches, making him the category's finest Englishman. He has scored the most number of his runs batting at number six, and has contributed more in away matches at an average of 40.57, hitting best score of 258. In 2017, Stokes scored 527 runs, and has 16 wickets.
England's go-to man
Moeen Ali recently webbed the South African team with his incredible 25 wickets and more than 250 runs as England won the test series 3-1. Ali's contribution has been more at home for England, with 82 of his 128 wickets coming in home matches. He is known as an elegant batsman, and has scored 2288 test runs at an average of 34.66.
