Why are there no genuine all-rounders in Test cricket today?

Are the days of genuine all-rounders like Imran Khan over?

The role of an all rounder in the game of cricket has been brought into the spotlight in the recent past with the advent of the T20 leagues all over the world. Gone are the days when a team rallied around 6 specialist batsmen and 5 specialist bowlers to win them a game of cricket.

They say true cricket is a game of "specialists" - they are better than "bits and pieces" cricketers, but no matter how good your batting or bowling is, every team does need a player who can play both roles to perfection - a player who can contribute in more than one department. An all-round player provides the team with the much needed balance - the ability to take wickets as well as score runs, which makes him a must have in the team, and allows the captain to go in with another option.

In the modern world of cricket, being a multi-faceted player is what will work for you. Who wouldn't like an opening batsman to chip in with a few overs when the team requires, or who wouldn't want a fast bowler who can hit some lusty shots and take the game away from the opposition?

All-rounders over the years

Over the years, the sport has seen a number of genuine all-rounders, who can win games both with their bowling and batting. A genuine all-rounder is a player who fulfils the role of a Test quality batsman AND a Test specialist bowler. He is one would make the team purely on his batting or bowling. He can make Test hundreds any where in the world and a player who has the skill to bowl overs, hour after hour, taking wickets and putting the opposition on the backfoot.

Cricket has seen some genuine all-rounders in Test cricket in recent years - players who can chip in with the bat, in any situation of the game and run away with the match. Sir Garfield Sobers, Imran Khan, Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Keith Miller started the trend, which has been carried forward by Jacques Kallis (widely regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the game) , Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock amongst others.

Gary Sobers, the claimant of 235 wickets at an average of 34.03, also has 26 centuries and 30 half-centuries to his name, with a highest score of 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958. Being a fantastic fielder and a captain of West Indies added to his CV and he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players cricket has seen.

Imran Khan, one of the finest players from Pakistan has 362 Test wickets in his kitty and a batting Test average of 37.69. Imran is one of the 8 players to achieve the "all-rounders triple" - 300 wickets and 3000 runs. Kapil Dev, who won the 1983 WC for India is best remembered for his 175* in the WC match against Zimbabwe, later shifted his focus to bowling, but there is no denying he could enter any team purely based on his batting alone.

Jacques Kallis, the modern day legend too can not be ignored. As a batsman, he has scored almost 13000 runs at an impressive average of 55.37 (higher than greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting) and picked up 292 wickets. Averaging 32.51 with the ball and scoring 41 centuries is no easy feat, and he undoubtedly ranks as one of the best in the game.

All-rounders in the current game

The retirement of Kallis in 2013 not only saw a legend bid adieu to the game but also saw a deep void in the "all-rounder" category, which Is yet to get a suitable replacement. A look at the current top 10 all-rounders in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings tells its own story.

Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan is the top ranked all-rounder in the world and he is one of the few cricketers who can qualify as one in the present era. His 2278 runs and 122 wickets in 54 matches clearly makes him a dangerous player. However, the fact that most of his wickets are against weaker teams have made critics question his numero uno ranking.

R Ashwin, Vernon Philander, Stuart Broad, Mitchell Johnson are the others in the top five, and will surely make eyes pop out in surprise. One would think it was a compilation of the top bowlers if one looked further down the list. Shane Watson, Ryan Harris, Tim Southee, Dale Steyn (surprise, surprise!) and Peter Siddle complete the list and it is time to ask whether these players deserve to be in the list or not. The ‘'all-rounders" (barring Watson) are more feared for their bowling skills and one or two match-saving innings have ensured their names are on the list.

Steyn, undoubtedly the word’s best bowler (383 wickets) has only scored around 1000 runs in 75 matches, averaging a mere 14, and his presence in the top 10 will surely undermine the other "genuine" all-rounders.

Indian off spinner Ashwin (107 wickets), who had briefly bagged the top spot, does have two centuries to his name, but it was scored on flat sub-continent pitches. Will he be expected to score a hundred in bouncy conditions offered abroad? A rhetorical question, considering he is not even a first choice spinner overseas. On the other hand, Watson can score runs (almost 3500 in 52 matches) as well as break a few partnerships (69 wickets) , but he is expected to make more of an impact in the one-day matches rather than over five days.

True, every bowler looks to improve his batting and give his team more runs to play with. But questions like "Will he be the next all rounder?" every time he scores a few runs, not only puts undue pressure on them, but also makes them lose focus on their bowling. The pressure of being a batsman drove the talented Irfan Pathan out of the team and here's hoping that fellow Indian Bhuvneshwar Kumar (who scored 247 runs in the just concluded India vs England Test series) doesn't go his way.

ODI v Tests - a stark contrast in the standard of all-rounders

The ODI rankings, led by Pakistan's Mohammed Hafeez, boasts of a few all-rounders like Angelo Mathews, Shahid Afridi, James Faulkner in the top ten and the difference between the standards of all-rounders in the two formats is baffling. A reason given for the lack of multi-dimensional players in Test cricket is that scoring at an average of above 45 and having a bowling strike rate of around 30 takes its toll on the body.

When the competition is high, an injury can put an end to ones career. As a result, players focus and perfect only one department. Contrast this to an ODI match, which has seen an upsurge in part-timers recently. The "all-rounders" are expected to chip in with 5-6 overs - spread over an innings - and score quick-fire runs. It is in the ODIs that these "bits and pieces" cricketers fit in.

A point of example is Ravindra Jadeja, who started off as a batsman, but soon became more of a bowler. No disrespect to him, but he is still stuck somewhere as a batsman who can bowl and a bowler who can bat, but is still a first choice in the Indian ODI team.

By referring to the likes of Steyn, Ashwin, Harris and Philander as “all-rounders”, it does legendary all-rounders a disservice. By putting them in the same league as Botham or Tony Greig is a shame and it just shows the futility of the all-rounders list in the present era.

Note: All statistics and rankings are updated till 15th August 2014.