Who is the greatest Test all-rounder of this generation?

Ab Fan

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I think there is no doubt that the three best all rounder of this generation are :-

Shakib Al Hasan (2007- present)
Ravindra Jadeja (2012- present)
Ben Stokes (2013- present)

Let's have a look at some stats as we take a deep dive on this debate.


Shakib Al Hasan:

Matches - 66
Runs - 4454
Bat Avg - 39
Wickets - 233
Bowl Avg - 31


Ravindra Jadeja:

Matches - 69
Runs - 2893
Bat Avg- 36
Wickets - 280
Bowl Avg - 24

Ben Stokes:-

Matches - 99
Runs - 6251
Bat Avg - 36
Wickets - 197
Bowl Avg - 32

Each of the three are playing from more than a decade and plays all formats hence we have enough sample to make this comparison.

In conditions like England, South Africa and New Zealand, Stokes prevails over the two while Jadeja is a superior cricketer in conditions like India, Australia and Sri Lanka. Shakib prevails in Bangladesh, West Indies and has a double ton on a road in NZ.

Who is the best all rounder of this generation?
 
I would say Stokes. He has been the best Test all-rounder of this generation.

BD played a lot of games against Zimbabwe. So, I say Shakib's stats are a bit inflated.

Jadeja is very good at home. Not so great outside of India.
 
Away from home stats :-

Stokes Bat Avg 33, Bowl Avg 33
Jadeja Bat Avg 31, Bowl Avg 32
Shakib Bat Avg 37, Bowl Avg 31


I would say Stokes. He has been the best Test all-rounder of this generation.

BD played a lot of games against Zimbabwe. So, I say Shakib's stats are a bit inflated.

Jadeja is very good at home. Not so great outside of India.
 
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The debate of the best all-rounder in the test has been very one-sided in the last 5 years. Home, it will be Jadeja by a landslide. So let's leave home tests.


Here is away from home in the last 5 years:

Jadeja:
Bat avg 38 & Bowl Avg 27 [ Proper gun all-rounder stats here ]
Stokes: Bat avg 32 & Bowl avg 39 [ Around 40 bowling average when playing away makes you a part-timer ]
Shakib: Played only 3 tests against WI and Zim. Bat 28 and Bowl 37. [ Not even in contention ]

I don't think he had much competition in the last 5 years. There are not many gun all-rounders to give competition to Jadeja. Stokes in his early years was good when he was bowling regularly.
 
The debate of the best all-rounder in the test has been very one-sided in the last 5 years. Home, it will be Jadeja by a landslide. So let's leave home tests.


Here is away from home in the last 5 years:

Jadeja:
Bat avg 38 & Bowl Avg 27 [ Proper gun all-rounder stats here ]
Stokes: Bat avg 32 & Bowl avg 39 [ Around 40 bowling average when playing away makes you a part-timer ]
Shakib: Played only 3 tests against WI and Zim. Bat 28 and Bowl 37. [ Not even in contention ]

I don't think he had much competition in the last 5 years. There are not many gun all-rounders to give competition to Jadeja. Stokes in his early years was good when he was bowling regularly.

Why are you focusing on 5 years? Why not 10 years?

Thread is about "this generation".
 
Stokes is a batting AR, I don't think he will bowl long spells in test cricket again. Just the odd over here and there. He is by far the best batsman from the three.

When it comes to AR ability it would have to be Jadeja, especially at home where he is a titan. Shakib is a fine player but doesn't play the top sides much.
 
Why are you focusing on 5 years? Why not 10 years?

Thread is about "this generation".
Because I have stopped seeing Stokes as an all-rounder. He does not bowl much. I see him as a batsman. You can't be the all-rounder of any generation if you are a part-timer for the bulk of your career.

In 2019, Stokes would have been in contention for this discussion.
 
Stokes is a batting AR, I don't think he will bowl long spells in test cricket again. Just the odd over here and there. He is by far the best batsman from the three.

When it comes to AR ability it would have to be Jadeja, especially at home where he is a titan. Shakib is a fine player but doesn't play the top sides much.
+1

He is a batsman who bowls a few overs here and there. He plays as a batsman for Eng. The best batsman among these 3 for sure.
 
I would say Stokes. He has been the best Test all-rounder of this generation.

BD played a lot of games against Zimbabwe. So, I say Shakib's stats are a bit inflated.

Jadeja is very good at home. Not so great outside of India.
Shakib has a case tbh. He has barely any support and his numbers are outstanding.
 
Why are you focusing on 5 years? Why not 10 years?

Thread is about "this generation".
Yea agreed. I have seen jadeja perform in Asia. We know he is great there. But outside Asia and say West indies, he has performed well in Australia. Dint do well in England iirc. Not so great in SA and dint play much in nz.

It's very even between the 2. Stokes gets the nod for me cause his bowling imo was more effective in Asia than jadeja's spin in sen countries.
 
Yea agreed. I have seen jadeja perform in Asia. We know he is great there. But outside Asia and say West indies, he has performed well in Australia. Dint do well in England iirc. Not so great in SA and dint play much in nz.

It's very even between the 2. Stokes gets the nod for me cause his bowling imo was more effective in Asia than jadeja's spin in sen countries.

Yes, Stokes bowled a superb spell in Bangladesh I think, took a 4-fer or 5-fer.
 
Because I have stopped seeing Stokes as an all-rounder. He does not bowl much. I see him as a batsman. You can't be the all-rounder of any generation if you are a part-timer for the bulk of your career.

In 2019, Stokes would have been in contention for this discussion.

Batting all rounders don't have to be all rounders throughout their career in my opinion.

Stokes was genuine all rounder for 60 tests, that's enough. A lot of all rounders with bowling as their main strength have their careers of total 60 or 70 tests. So, in that context, I think 197 wickets at 32 puts Stokes in category of batting all rounders.
 
Stokes is one of the best all rounder at the moment.

At the moment, he doesn't qualify because he is not bowling. I am talking about this generation which includes 10-15 years, basically whole career.

I think Jadeja, Stokes and Shakib are the three best all rounders whether it is tests or all formats combined.
 
At the moment, he doesn't qualify because he is not bowling. I am talking about this generation which includes 10-15 years, basically whole career.

I think Jadeja, Stokes and Shakib are the three best all rounders whether it is tests or all formats combined.
I think he does not bowl much these days just because of his fitness issues.
 
At this point Stokes is not even the best all rounder within his side. That belongs to Jo Root
 
At this point Stokes is not even the best all rounder within his side. That belongs to Jo Root

Thread is about this generation. Not present time only.

Stokes has done better than Jadeja in batting department.

In bowling, Stokes isn't far away. He has 197 Test wickets while Jadeja has 280.

Overall, Stokes has had more impact (batting and bowling combined).
 
Thread is about this generation. Not present time only.

Stokes has done better than Jadeja in batting department.

In bowling, Stokes isn't far away. He has 197 Test wickets while Jadeja has 280.

Overall, Stokes has had more impact (batting and bowling combined).

Currently he is not all rounder. He ceased to exist as an all rounder long back. So he doesn't belong to that category. He is a batsman who used to bowl. Even when he bowled he was more like 3rd change bowler. Partnership breaker kind of role.
 
Jadeja and Stokes have played against each other in 10 tests,

IN those 10 tests

Jadeja 10 tests 666 runs 44.40 avge 41 wickets 33.97 avge
Stokes 10 tests 494 runs 29.05 avge 23 wickets 34.13 avge
 
Jadeja and Stokes have played against each other in 10 tests,

IN those 10 tests

Jadeja 10 tests 666 runs 44.40 avge 41 wickets 33.97 avge
Stokes 10 tests 494 runs 29.05 avge 23 wickets 34.13 avge

For a fair comparison, we have to look at whole careers.
 
Currently, Jadeja is the only worthy all-rounder. He regularly scores and picks wickets.
I think Marco Jansen has the potential to become a quality bowling all-rounder.
 
Thread is about this generation. Not present time only.

Stokes has done better than Jadeja in batting department.

In bowling, Stokes isn't far away. He has 197 Test wickets while Jadeja has 280.

Overall, Stokes has had more impact (batting and bowling combined).
So Sangakkara's superior batting average compared to Tendulkar matters, but when it comes to Stokes and Jadeja their bowling averages don't count, it's the number of wickets? 😆
 
So Sangakkara's superior batting average compared to Tendulkar matters, but when it comes to Stokes and Jadeja their bowling averages don't count, it's the number of wickets? 😆

Average matters more in batting than in bowling.

In batting, Stokes clearly did better than Jadeja (better average and more runs).

In bowling, Jadeja did better but Stokes isn't far away. Stokes has 197 Test wickets while Jadeja has 280 Test wickets.

When all things are considered, I think Stokes did better. So, he is the best all-rounder of this generation (both Test and ODI).
 
Average matters more in batting than in bowling.

In batting, Stokes clearly did better than Jadeja (better average and more runs).

In bowling, Jadeja did better but Stokes isn't far away. Stokes has 197 Test wickets while Jadeja has 280 Test wickets.
Stokes averages 32 with the ball, Jadeja averages 24. Stokes has 4 5 wicket hauls in 99 Tests, Jadeja has 12 5 wicket hauls in 69 Tests. Stokes isn't far away?

Average matters more in batting than in bowling? My Goodness! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
Stokes no longer belongs in the AR category. Maybe a couple of years ago, yes. Not sure how long it's been since he bowled. I know he has not bowled a single ball in the ongoing series. Currently he is just a specialist captain who can bat well.

Shakib too cannot be considered being that he barely plays for BD. Just plays when he feels like. On top of that BD barely plays tests.

So, only true allrounder currently is Jadeja. He bowls a good amount of overs, bats well and is the best fielder in the world currently. Only three dimensional player currently.
 
jadeja is the best all-rounder out there in tests now. He has been performing brilliantly in recent times. Stokes is no longer an all-rounder so he cannot be on the list for me anymore. Marco Jansen is another guy who can be one of the greats in the all-rounder department but he is still fairly new.
 
Stokes no longer belongs in the AR category. Maybe a couple of years ago, yes. Not sure how long it's been since he bowled. I know he has not bowled a single ball in the ongoing series. Currently he is just a specialist captain who can bat well.

Shakib too cannot be considered being that he barely plays for BD. Just plays when he feels like. On top of that BD barely plays tests.

So, only true allrounder currently is Jadeja. He bowls a good amount of overs, bats well and is the best fielder in the world currently. Only three dimensional player currently.
When has jadeja ever scored in SA, nz ? Apart from some flat patta pitches in England, he dint do well there either in batting. Don't recall any match winning performances.

He is a really good player but in swing friendly pitches he has struggled to bat iirc.
 
Jadeja and Stokes have played against each other in 10 tests,

IN those 10 tests

Jadeja 10 tests 666 runs 44.40 avge 41 wickets 33.97 avge
Stokes 10 tests 494 runs 29.05 avge 23 wickets 34.13 avge
Stokes has been poor vs india in general but he has had a few games where he did manage to take match changing wickets in England back during thr 2018 series.
 
Stokes no longer belongs in the AR category. Maybe a couple of years ago, yes. Not sure how long it's been since he bowled. I know he has not bowled a single ball in the ongoing series. Currently he is just a specialist captain who can bat well.

Shakib too cannot be considered being that he barely plays for BD. Just plays when he feels like. On top of that BD barely plays tests.

So, only true allrounder currently is Jadeja. He bowls a good amount of overs, bats well and is the best fielder in the world currently. Only three dimensional player currently.

What about this "generation"?
 
Stokes averages 32 with the ball, Jadeja averages 24. Stokes has 4 5 wicket hauls in 99 Tests, Jadeja has 12 5 wicket hauls in 69 Tests. Stokes isn't far away?

Average matters more in batting than in bowling? My Goodness! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

What is their batting averages? Bowl Avg suggest Jadeja wins it.
 
jadeja is the best all-rounder out there in tests now. He has been performing brilliantly in recent times. Stokes is no longer an all-rounder so he cannot be on the list for me anymore. Marco Jansen is another guy who can be one of the greats in the all-rounder department but he is still fairly new.
Jansen is more in Akram's bracket. He is a specialist bowler who can use long handle
 
When has jadeja ever scored in SA, nz ? Apart from some flat patta pitches in England, he dint do well there either in batting. Don't recall any match winning performances.

He is a really good player but in swing friendly pitches he has struggled to bat iirc.

Which match winning performances do you remember from Stokes anywhere in away games?
 
Which match winning performances do you remember from Stokes anywhere in away games?
I cant. In losing causes yea. I recall a 100 in India back in 2016? But again match losing.

I am not saying jadeja is inferior or Stokes is inferior. Just trying to see if jad has scored any runs in sen. Don't recall. He was unlucky not to get picked over ashwin often in sen. Mistake on India's part.

Both are quality ARs. But my preference is Stokes. His record in Asia as a bowler I believe is better than jads record in sen.
 
When has jadeja ever scored in SA, nz ? Apart from some flat patta pitches in England, he dint do well there either in batting. Don't recall any match winning performances.

He is a really good player but in swing friendly pitches he has struggled to bat iirc.
All I am saying is the AR list should be Jadeja, Green, Marsh. No one else.

Unless you are saying that since Jadeja cannot play swing he should not be in the list.
 
What about this "generation"?
Only players to consider would be Jadeja and Stokes. For me, Jadeja edges to the top. But lets wait for the end of their careers and look at the stats at that time.
 
I cant. In losing causes yea. I recall a 100 in India back in 2016? But again match losing.

I am not saying jadeja is inferior or Stokes is inferior. Just trying to see if jad has scored any runs in sen. Don't recall. He was unlucky not to get picked over ashwin often in sen. Mistake on India's part.

Both are quality ARs. But my preference is Stokes. His record in Asia as a bowler I believe is better than jads record in sen.

Jadeja played a crucial role in winning this game after 36 AO at Adelaide.


When Jadeja walked in India were 173-5 and he added 121 runs with Rahane.

He picked up 3-43 also along with that.

Ben Stokes had his opportunities in matches where Australia were bowled out easily like in this matches
 
There is no comparison between Stokes and Jadeja.

Jadeja is by far a greater all-rounder who has won more matches for his team than Stokes can in a million years.

Stokes’ reputation as a match-winner/game changer gets overhyped because he has won 2-3 matches in his career from unlikely situations. Apart from that, he has been a decent player at best. Nothing more.

Stokes is a better batsman than Jadeja for sure, but the gap between their batting is actually less significant than the gap between their bowling.

If we bring fielding to the table, then Jadeja completely trumps him again.
 
Jadeja played a crucial role in winning this game after 36 AO at Adelaide.


When Jadeja walked in India were 173-5 and he added 121 runs with Rahane.

He picked up 3-43 also along with that.

Ben Stokes had his opportunities in matches where Australia were bowled out easily like in this matches
Yea australia. I agree.

But Sen?
Dint play much in nz but they tamper with pitches. So I understand.
 
WHat about Kallis. his record is phenomenal and one of the best all rounders to ever play in this century.
 
Yea australia. I agree.

But Sen?
Dint play much in nz but they tamper with pitches. So I understand.

Stokes is better in England, South Africa and New Zealand.

Jadeja is better in India, Australia and Sri Lanka.

You won't go wrong with either in West Indies.

In Pakistan or UAE, I think Jadeja would do better due to flat nature of pitches, Stokes bowling will be ineffective while in batting, both will score runs.
 
Stokes isn't an all rounder but a batsman who can ball a bit like Steve Waugh

For the first 60 tests, he was a proper all rounder.

As a batsman, he is not match to Steve Waugh. He is basically Rahane/ Rahul level test batsman.
 
Currently he is just a specialist captain who can bat well.

Describes him pretty well to be honest. It’s always good when he makes runs at 6 but sometimes it feels like a bit of a bonus. Stokes body is too broken to bowl, and his main function now is as a (very good) captain. It’s similar to Morgan in LOIs after his actual cricketing ability declined, he still got the occasional score but failed with the bat quite often, however, his captaincy was worth its weight in gold to the team and he was mainly being kept around for his brain.
 
Stokes is better in England, South Africa and New Zealand.

Jadeja is better in India, Australia and Sri Lanka.

You won't go wrong with either in West Indies.

In Pakistan or UAE, I think Jadeja would do better due to flat nature of pitches, Stokes bowling will be ineffective while in batting, both will score runs.
I agree with this assessment.

Although jadeja has had moments in England too. But that's Stokes home so yea clear edge to Stokes.

Haven't seen him much in SA. Maybe india should have picked him over ashwin
 
It is actually debatable if Stokes would get into the Indian Test team. On the other hand, Jadeja walks into an all-time England XI let alone their current England team.
 
From past players i would pick Jacques Kallis and from the recent lot i will go for Ravindra Jadeja as the best Test all rounders.
 
I agree with this assessment.

Although jadeja has had moments in England too. But that's Stokes home so yea clear edge to Stokes.

Haven't seen him much in SA. Maybe india should have picked him over ashwin

Jadeja has injured last two tours in SA. Last tour he played the second test but didn't had anything to do as SA were bowled out at 55.
 
I will add Jason holder to the discussion as well. He got the better of stokes more often than not in h2h encounters
 
WHat about Kallis. his record is phenomenal and one of the best all rounders to ever play in this century.
why nobody is including Kallis in the list of the greatest ones. He was definitely one of the best ones to play this sport. Beast of a batter and more than just handy with the ball.
 
Jadeja over Stokes. Stokes isn’t even an all rounder anymore. Jadeja’s batting average is comparable while his bowling average is way better than Stokes. Both are gun fielders.
Jadeja over Stokes, although things could be interesting if Stokes could remain fit over his whole career.
If I had to go to a bar and pick a fight after, I’d go with Stokes any day of the week over Jadeja.
 
why nobody is including Kallis in the list of the greatest ones. He was definitely one of the best ones to play this sport. Beast of a batter and more than just handy with the ball.
I think this is about existing players. Current
 
Stats done tell the whole story though. I still dont think ashwin is no where near Warne's class overall. Or Jim later.
Or jadeja.

As a bowler I mean
 
Has to be Jadeja because Stokes didn't bowl as much and has more performances with the bat.
 
The thread is about this generation, Kallis retired in 2014, not just the existing ones.
True then kalis easy. I mean that's not even up for debate. Infact I am ok with the fact that he could be labelled as the greatest player of all time.
 
True then kalis easy. I mean that's not even up for debate. Infact I am ok with the fact that he could be labelled as the greatest player of all time.
Yeah, these stokes and jadeja's are no where near him.
 
The thread is about this generation, Kallis retired in 2014, not just the existing ones.

2014 is 10 years ago.

This generation should have players who played for most part of 2010s and more.

Jadeja, Stokes, Shakib, Moeen, Holder, Woakes, Santner belong to this era.
 
Jadeja has surpassed Ashwin and Imran as the GOAT Asian Test all-rounder. He has been phenomenal with both bat & ball and at the same time which is the true litmus test of an all-rounder.

If you are good with bat or ball in different phases of your career you are not really an all-rounder.

Stokes is nowhere near Jadeja.

GOAT Asian Test all-rounders:

1. Jadeja
2. Ashwin
3. Imran
4. Kapil
 
Jadeja has surpassed Ashwin and Imran as the GOAT Asian Test all-rounder. He has been phenomenal with both bat & ball and at the same time which is the true litmus test of an all-rounder.

If you are good with bat or ball in different phases of your career you are not really an all-rounder.

Stokes is nowhere near Jadeja.

GOAT Asian Test all-rounders:

1. Jadeja
2. Ashwin
3. Imran
4. Kapil

He has definitely surpassed Imran the batter. Imran was averaging 32 after 70 tests with same number of not outs as Jadeja while Jadeja is averaging 37. Question is how do you compare those two as bowlers? Jadeja is two levels below Imran as a bowler although the fielding gap is pretty huge between the two.
 
He has definitely surpassed Imran the batter. Imran was averaging 32 after 70 tests with same number of not outs as Jadeja while Jadeja is averaging 37. Question is how do you compare those two as bowlers? Jadeja is two levels below Imran as a bowler although the fielding gap is pretty huge between the two.
It is highly disrespectful to call Jadeja two steps below Imran as a bowler. Jadeja has been an outstanding match-winner with the ball.

He has played a huge role in establishing the 2015-2021 Indian team as the GOAT Asian Test team in history.

Jadeja in the last 5 years & 30 Tests has averaged 46 with the bat and 26 with the ball, and 16 of these 30 Tests have been outside Asia.

This is a staggering record. A peak all-round performance that puts him in the pantheons of legendary all-rounders.
 
Jadeja in the last 5 years & 30 Tests has averaged 46 with the bat and 26 with the ball, and 16 of these 30 Tests have been outside Asia.

This is a staggering record. A peak all-round performance that puts him in the pantheons of legendary all-rounders.

That's true. I think it is probably one of the best all round peaks since Botham.
 
It is highly disrespectful to call Jadeja two steps below Imran as a bowler. Jadeja has been an outstanding match-winner with the ball.

He has played a huge role in establishing the 2015-2021 Indian team as the GOAT Asian Test team in history.

Jadeja in the last 5 years & 30 Tests has averaged 46 with the bat and 26 with the ball, and 16 of these 30 Tests have been outside Asia.

This is a staggering record. A peak all-round performance that puts him in the pantheons of legendary all-rounders.
That's a staggering record as a bowler and a batsman given more than half of the tests were outside Asia. Also, Indian pitches were mostly hard to bat in the last 5 years.

I think Botham was contributing that way with bat and ball at the same time when he started.
 
Stokes this series :-

Runs - 175
Innings - 5
Avg - 35
Wickets - 0

Jadeja this series :-

Runs - 201
Innings - 3
Avg - 67
Wickets - 7
 
Strokes hardly bowls nowadays. Better to remove him from the all-rounder category.
 
He has definitely surpassed Imran the batter. Imran was averaging 32 after 70 tests with same number of not outs as Jadeja while Jadeja is averaging 37. Question is how do you compare those two as bowlers? Jadeja is two levels below Imran as a bowler although the fielding gap is pretty huge between the two.
Imran is once in a generation player , a fast bowling all rounder is worth in gold , it is the most exclusive category.
 
Jadeja is a proper batsman and a decent bowler who bowls well on slow pitches. Like Ashwin he too has benefited from taking a lot of wickets at home.
I rate Richie Benaud as the best spin all-rounder.
 
Now people are trolling.

I mean I think Imran is a tad overrated on this forum.

But Jadeja vs Imran is not a comparison.

Seriously.

Imran at his peak was the most desructive all rounder to have played the game.

Jadedja at his best is a fishmerman.

Gets the job done but not even close.

Laugable trolling and comparisons.
 
Ton after his team was in trouble and then 5-fer in the same match.

It's rare to have all-rounders who can perform at the same time.
 
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