3 all-rounders with more than 10000 runs and 500 wickets in international cricket ft. Jacques Kallis
All-rounders are an invaluable asset to any side in international cricket for the simple reason that they offer multiple skill sets. Because being an all-rounder is such a tough task, it is not surprising that the game of cricket has only produced a handful of such high-quality players.
There was a time in the 1980s when international cricket was dominated by four all-rounders - India's Kapil Dev, New Zealand's Richard Hadlee, Pakistan's Imran Khan and England's Ian Botham. While Kapil claimed 687 international wickets and scored 9031 runs, Hadlee claimed 589 scalps and scored 4875 runs.
Further, former Pakistan captain Imran picked up 544 wickets in international cricket and scored 7516 runs. Looking at Botham's numbers, the legendary former all-rounder picked up 528 international scalps apart from scoring 7313 runs.
While all the above four are legends of the game, three all-rounders have achieved the unique distinction of 10000 runs and 500 wickets in international cricket. Take a look at the super trio below.
#1 Jacques Kallis
South African legend Jacques Kallis played 519 international matches during a glorious career and amassed 25534 runs at an average of 49.10, with 62 hundreds and 149 half-centuries. With his canny medium pace, he claimed 577 wickets at an average of 32.14, with seven five-fers.
Kallis featured in 166 Test matches, scoring 13289 runs at an average of 55.37, with 45 hundreds and 58 half-centuries. With the ball, he picked up 292 wickets at an average of 32.65, with five five-fers.
The 48-year-old also played 328 one-day matches in which he notched up 11579 runs at an average of 44.36, with 17 hundreds and 86 half-centuries. With the ball in the format, he claimed 273 wickets at an average of 31.79, with two five-fers.
Looking at his T20I stats, the Proteas great featured in 25 matches and scored 666 runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike rate of 119.35, with five half-centuries. With the ball, he picked up 12 scalps at an average of 27.75, with a best of 4-15.
#2 Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has featured in 443 international matches and has claimed a whopping 703 wickets across the three formats of the game at an average of 28.25, with 25 five-fers and two 10-wicket-match hauls. With the bat, he has amassed 14626 runs at an average of 34.09, with 14 tons and 100 fifties.
Shakib has featured in 67 Test matches and has scored 4505 runs at an average of 38.83, with five hundreds and 31 fifties. With the ball, he has claimed 237 wickets at an average of 31.16, with 19 five-fers and two 10-wicket match hauls.
The 37-year-old has notched up 7570 runs in 247 ODIs at an average of 37.29, with nine tons and 56 half-centuries. He has also claimed 317 wickets at an average of 29.52, with four five-wicket hauls.
In T20Is, Shakib has featured in 129 matches, claiming 149 wickets at an average of 20.91, with two five-fers. With the willow, he has scored 2551 runs at a strike rate of 121.18, with 13 fifties.
#3 Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi featured in 524 international matches during his career, hammering 11196 runs at an average of 23.92 and a strike rate of 114.14, with 11 tons and 51 fifties. Afridi also claimed 541 wickets at an average of 32.78, with 10 five-fers.
Looking at his stats in Test cricket, Afridi played 27 matches and scored 1716 runs at an average of 36.51, with five hundreds and eight fifties. With his leg-spin, he picked up 48 wickets at an average of 35.60, with one five-fer to his credit.
The 44-year-old also featured in 398 matches in one-day cricket, hammering 8064 runs at a strike rate of 117, with six hundreds and 39 half-centuries. Afridi also claimed 395 scalps at an average of 34.51, with nine five-fers.
Looking at his T20I numbers, Afridi played 99 matches and scored 1416 runs at a strike rate of 150, with four half-centuries. With his leg-spin, the former Pakistan captain picked up 98 wickets at an average of 24.44, with a best of 4-11.