Cricket has produced some of the world’s greatest sporting talent. Whether you’re mad about cricket, wanting to win big, or simply trying to stay up-to-date on the best players, below you’ll find the 10 best all-round players in cricket today.
In order to create our rankings, we’ve included all ICC match formats to tally a bespoke total for each player. Retired players are not included. This total is similar to those used in deciding the ‘World XI’ – a theoretical team made up of the best players through all cricketing formats. There are individual odds on these top players on numerous Cricket Bookies Online and they offer odds for player performance and other aspects as well.
1. Babar Azam
Regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world, Babar Azam often trades places with Virat Kohli at the top of the ICC ODI best batsman rankings. The all-format captain of Pakistan has been the leading scorer for Pakistan for the greater part of a decade.
During the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Azam regained his ranking as the top T20 batsman, breaking the record for the most half-centuries and total runs in a T20 World Cup. He also holds several other records, including the most runs in a three-match ODI series, and the fastest batsman to score 2,000 runs in T20.
2. M.S. Dhoni
Although retired from international cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is currently one of the most successful IPL captains in the world. He has been in the ICC ODI and T20 Teams of the Decade, and has been named the ICC ODI Player of the Year twice.
Before focusing on T20 IPL cricket, Dhoni led the Indian team to three ICC limited-overs tournament victories. Like Kholi, he has received India’s highest sporting award, as well as India’s third and fourth highest civilian awards.
3. Shakib Al Hasan
The holder of several international records, Shakib Al Hasan is perhaps the best all-round cricketer in the world. He is the fastest player to score 5,000 runs and obtain 250 wickets in ODI matches, and the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in all international formats.
Al Hasan is the first player to reach 100 wickets and 1,000 runs in T20. He is the leading wicket-taker in T20 history as well as all T20 World Cup matches. Bangladesh played 50 matches under his captaincy, 23 of which were won. He is the first and only player to reach number one in all three ICC player rankings (ODI, Test, and T20).
4. Rashid Khan
In 2018, Afghanistan played their first ever international Test match against India. Rashid Khan was one of those 11 players and, despite suffering the most expensive debut bowling figures in the history of cricket, his meteoric rise to the top of ODI rankings has been astonishing to say the least.
In September of 2019, Khan became the youngest multi-format captain in history at 20 years of age. He is also the youngest player to top the ICC Player Rankings for bowling in both ODI and T20 formats. He is the fastest bowler to take 100 T20 wickets. By December of 2020 Khan was named the ICC Men’s T20 Player of the Decade.
5. Quentin de Kock
Quentin de Kock is the fastest South African to reach 1,000 ODI runs. He holds the record as the fastest wicketkeeper to reach 150 test dismissals, and is only the second wicketkeeper-opener to score a century in ODIs while captaining his side.
By his 20th ODI match, de Kock had already achieved five centuries. Named Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa’s 2017 and 2020 Annual Awards, de Kock is the fastest player to complete 12 ODI centuries, beating Hashim Amla’s previous record by seven games. His first captaincy came in December 2020, when he led South Africa against Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series for the 2019-2021 ICC World Test Championship.
6. Virat Kohli
Boasting an extensive list of accolades, Virat Kohli is one of the most decorated cricketers in the history of the sport. He is the fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs, and is second only to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in terms of total ODI centuries achieved.
The Indian captain is the only player to be awarded Player of the Tournament twice at the T20 World Cup. His most notable sporting honours include the Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the Decade Trophy, numerous ICC awards, and five Polly Umrigar Awards for International Cricketer of the Year. Both ESPN and Forbes rate Kohli as one of the world’s most valued athletes, and Time magazine voted him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
7. Andre Russell
Easily one of the greatest T20 cricketers of all time, Andre Russell has played over 200 matches for various T20 teams in different leagues around the world. His contributions to West Indies cricket have led to two ICC World Twenty20 victories. From 2016 to 2020, Russell was awarded Indian, Caribbean and Bangladesh T20 league MVP awards.
In the Indian Premier League, Russell achieved the award for the most sixes in a T20 tournament. In Jamaica he was named Player of the Series twice. For his performance with the Rajshahi Royals in the Bangladesh Premier he was awarded Player of the Tournament, and he was the top wicket-taker in Pakistan’s Super League in 2016.
8. Rohit Sharma
Named the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2017 and 2020, Rohit Sharma is widely regarded as one of the best opening batsmen of all time. Currently holding the record for the highest individual score in an ODI, Sharma is the only player to score three double-centuries in the ODI format.
The Indian T20 captain is the only batsmen to score five centuries in a single World Cup, and the first to score two centuries in his first appearance as an opening batsman. In 2020 he was awarded the highest sporting honor in India, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
9. Ben Stokes
Consistently bowling at speeds of 87 mph, Benjamin Stokes is one of the best swing-bowlers in the world. He is the fastest batsman to reach a Test match score of 250 and is England’s record-holder for the fastest-ever Test double-century.
Stokes has been awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World award twice. In January of 2020 he was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Best Cricketer of the Year by the ICC. He is the highest-paid overseas player in the Indian Premier League. For his contributions to cricket Stokes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
10. Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson is the captain of the New Zealand national side in all formats. In 2019 he was awarded Player of the Tournament at the Cricket World Cup for his efforts in leading New Zealand to the final. He is the number one ranked Test batsman in the world, ahead of Virat Kohli.
Williamson is the only New Zealander named in the ICC Test Team of the Decade. In 2021 he led the Black Caps to victory at the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. His leadership has ushered in a new era of success for his country, and his ability to lead from the front when it counts makes him an invaluable asset.
