An all-rounder in cricket is a prized possession for any team. Lending a much-desired balance to the team, all-rounders have often proved to be the difference between two teams. However, only a few men since 1877; when the first test match was played, have been able to do justice to the title.
But amongst the few who did, two players were Kapil Dev and Imran Khan. The duo was a part of the golden quartet of all-rounders along with England’s Ian Botham and New Zealand’s Sir Richard Hadlee, who swayed millions every time they took to the field.
Performing similar roles for two cricket-obsessed countries through the decades of the 1970s and 80s, they captured the pulse of their nations with every stroke they play and every ball they bowled. Without them, the country bickered, people fought amongst themselves and what not. However, seeing them on screen, all differences become archaic, offices stopped, shops closed and reverence for one’s homeland swelled at such a time.
In their days of playing, these two icons were fierce rivals — not particularly helped by their respective countries’ international relations. Just like in real life, India and Pakistan were at each other’s throats— although this time not for a piece of land, but for cricketing glory.
For long, the debate has raged over who was the greater all-rounder between Imran Khan and Kapil Dev- for one was the icon of an emerging nation which wanted to assert itself on the global stage whilst the other stood as a challenge to the hegemony of Mumbai and Maharajas in India’s cricketing XI.
Having led their teams to World Cup glories in 1992 and 1983, Imran and Kapil stood as their country’s premier match-winner in their heydeys- their individual performances mostly directing the fate of their team. The two former captains also had their fair share of popularity with the ladies, both becoming huge hits with advertisers in the process.
With their being so many things similar between the duo in terms of their personality and roles, a comparison becomes all the more necessary.
Today we take a look at the careers of Imran and Kapil - both in Tests as well as ODI to provide a statistical answer to the question- Who is better, Kapil or Imran?
As a Test batsman
While it wouldn’t be wrong to consider both primarily as bowling all-rounders, their numbers as a Test batsman are too good to be ignored. As a Test batsman, Kapil Dev scored 5,248 runs at an average of 31.05 in 131 matches. The former Indian skipper also has eight centuries and 27 fifties to his name in comparison to Imran Khan, who scored 3,807 runs with six centuries and 18 fifties in 88 Tests. If one considers just the numbers, it would seem that Kapil Dev is ahead of Imran khan as a Test batsman.
The numbers, however, don’t take into consideration that Kapil Dev has a distinctly low average of 31.05 against the former Pakistani skipper’s far superior average of 37.69. The numerical supremacy of Kapil over Imran in terms of runs scored can also be understood in the light that Kapil played in a far greater number of matches than Imran Khan.
Even on the centuries count, Kapil has only two more centuries in 43 more matches. Considering all these factors, it can be said that Imran had a superior batting record as a Test batsman.
As a Test bowler
This was a role that the two individuals relished over the years. In his responsibility as a Test bowler, Kapil Dev took 434 wickets, a world record at that time. He averaged 29.64 runs per wickets at a strike rate nearing 64 in the course of his 131 match career. Meanwhile, playing for the neighbouring country, Imran Khan took 362 wickets in 88 games at an average of 22.81 and a strike rate of 53.7.
Lower numbers for Imran Khan — low average runs per wicket and lower numbers of balls per wicket tilts the judgment in this regard heading towards Imran Khan as a Test bowler over his longtime rival from Haryana. While both the bowlers took a five-wicket haul 23 times in their career, Imran had more ten-wicket hauls (6), compared to Kapil dev (2). Thus, Imran maintains a lead over Kapil Dev as a Test bowler according to the present statistics.
As an ODI batsman
Imran Khan as an ODI batsman gathered 3709 runs in 175 matches. The hard-hitting Pakistani scored these runs at an average of 33.41 at 72.65 runs per 100 balls. The former skipper became a less flamboyant yet reliable batsman later in his career. Although his run-scoring rate dropped, it still helped his team to have a dependable batsman in the middle order.
Kapil Dev, on the other hand, mainly played as a finisher through his career, finishing with 3783 runs in 225 matches. In his role as a finisher, Kapil excelled as he scored these runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 95.07. His average although is a bit low at 23.79. However, that is more than compensated by his ability to score at almost run a ball, which is extremely good even by modern standards. Thus, it can certainly be said that Kapil does better as an ODI batsman than his arch-rival, Imran.
As an ODI bowler
In the limited overs format, both the stalwarts had been the go-to bowlers for their respective teams. While Imran took 182 wickets in ODIs, Kapil Dev is ahead of him with 253 wickets from 225 matches. However, Imran took these wickets at a lower strike rate of 40.9 balls per wicket and an average of 26.61 in comparison to Kapil Dev, who took his wickets at a strike rate of 44.2 and at 27.45 runs per wicket.
While Kapil was a better ODI batsman than Imran, their numbers in one-day internationals don't show a clear divide as a bowler. There is no clear winner in this round and thus, it is a draw – neither of the two wins or loses to the other.
As a captain
As a captain, both have led their countries to World Cup titles - India being led to it in 1983 while Pakistan followed suit in 1992, with Imran at the helm of affairs. The similarities, however, end there.
While Imran certainly performed better as a captain, the same can’t be said about Kapil Dev with that much conviction. The former Pakistan captain scored his runs at an average of 52.34 as a captain in 48 Tests with five centuries. Even on the bowling front, Imran pushed his game up by several notches — 187 wickets at an average of 20.26 are outstanding by any standards.
In one day internationals, Imran does wonders — a 50 plus average and a strike rate of above 80 as skipper. He was the captain of Pakistan when they drew three series with the great West Indies team of the 1980s. The feat becomes all the greater when we consider that other teams were nowhere close to challenging the Caribbean team in that era. The fiery all-rounder even led his side to their first series win in England in 1987, taking a decisive ten-wicket haul at Headingley to ensure the win.
Kapil Dev, meanwhile, doesn’t have such a glittering record as a captain. Although he did lead India to the World Cup, he also led India to a disappointing whitewash in the Caribbean months after the triumph. He scored 1364 runs in 34 Test matches as a captain with three hundreds and eight fifties at an average of 31.72. Dev stroked it at an average of 30 plus with a strike rate of above 100 in ODIs.
On the bowling front, however, there was a marked difference between his performances as a captain— he took 111 wickets at an average of 26.35 as against 323 wickets at an average of 30.78. In 34 Tests, he led India to only 4 wins with 7 losses, 1 tie and 22 draws.
Thus, it seems that Imran Khan was, after all, a better captain than Kapil Dev when we take a look at all the overall picture.
Keeping in mind all the statistics that we discussed here, it would be fair to say that Imran khan does prove to be a better all-rounder than Kapil Dev. Though Kapil Dev is an all-time great in his own right, Imran edges past him in this duel of theirs- with his performances as a captain and his captaincy record overshadowing that of his counterpart from India.
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