“Imran Khan was the best all-rounder of our era,” says former New Zealand all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. Hadlee rated Imran much higher than the likes of himself, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham because of Imran being a complete entertainer not just with the bat or ball but also as a captain.
Hadlee was quoted by The Times of India saying, "If I was asked to pick who was the better of the four of us and I am saying on record that Imran was the best because he was a versatile batsman, potent strike bowler and charismatic captain.”
"As a batsman, he could bat anywhere in the top six, sometimes in the top four, and play any type of innings depending on the circumstance of the game.”
"As a bowler, he was a potent strike bowler. His record suggests he was a fine bowler. He was also a charismatic person, a good and successful captain for Pakistan. He had a lot of respect, he had the package," Hadlee added.
Though, he did a special place for one of the brilliant all-rounder Garry Sobers because of his charismatic presence in every department of the game. Apart from that, he rated himself as the better bowler of this quartet of 80’s but not an all-rounder because of his not-so impressive batting.
He was quoted by DNA saying, "Sobers traditionally has always been regarded as the number one because people would pay to go and see him play. Very flamboyant, rhythmical batsman and bowler, fielder, captain. The whole package and the stats would back that up.”
"I scored less Test hundreds than anyone else, my batting average was lower than the others. So while I had some good innings, my batting was inconsistent. I wouldn't put myself in that same category, actually, but as a bowler definitely," he said.
He recalled how this quartet of Kapil, Imran, Botham and him was always involved in the battle within the battle mode. He shared how competitive he was to get these three out and how this feeling helped him to be a better player.
Hadlee was quoted by Deccan Chronicle saying, "I didn't want to get out to Kapil or Immy or Beefy but I certainly wanted to get them out when I bowled. So that competition actually grew and that motivation actually grew."
He praised Jacques Kallis for his efforst as an all-rounder as it’s not easy to adapt to all the three formats of the game and continue to excel in all three. He said, "Statistically, he (Kallis) is the greatest all-rounder ever in the history of the game, no question about that. But obviously as time has moved on in his case, he is now being more selective. But I still would probably think his focus is Test cricket.”