Imran Khan was miles better than Botham.
Well, Imran is my favorite player of all-time, so you won't get any disagreement from me.
It's not so difficult if you have read a fair bit of cricket history.[DOUBLEPOST=1501447959][/DOUBLEPOST]
Imran was a better bowler. I think Botham was a more naturally gifted batsman. But Imran was very effective with the bat late in his career.
And that's one of the reasons why Imran is better : his capability to adapt. Had he not suffered that big shin injury, which forced him to give up bowling for two years, and left him as a shadow of his former self as a bowler, he would've definitely ended with more than 500 wickets. In his first five years, he averaged 22 with the bat in 25 tests. In his last three, he averaged 72 in 15 matches. He had the second highest batting average in his last five years, behind only Martin Crowe. From 1980 to 1988, he averaged 17 with the ball, less than Marshall, Garner, Holding, Hadlee, Lillee, Botham and Kapil Dev. He averaged 52 with the bat and 20 with the ball as captain. The difference between his batting average (37) and bowling average (22) is 15. Only Sobers has a higher difference between his batting and bowling averages. To argue that Imran wasn't the best of the four allrounders of the 80s is foolish.
How about reverse swing? Imran was the only bowler in the world that could do it at his time. There is no objective way you can say Botham was a better bowler than Imran. Batsman, maybe, but bowler, no way.
Sir Don Bradman - 99.96 nuff said, already. Sunil Gavaskar - Perhaps the greatest batsman to ever play for India. Jaques Kallis - One of the greatest with the bat, great with the ball Rahul Dravid - Could have been the greatest for any team, except for India, when he played alongside Sachin Kumar Sangakarra - Edges over Botham for my Keeper slot just because of his batting consistency. Shivnarine Chanderpaul - The best person you need when you want to save a match. Ian Botham - Arguably Greatest all rounder after Kallis Shane Warne - The greatest leg spinner ever. Wasim Akram - The swing master from Pakistan Muttiah Muralidharan - The most mysterious bowler ever. Glen McGrath - The accurate killer Daniel Vettori - As much as it hurts me to leave him out, he can not be ignored. He is the definition of the spin bowling for New Zealand. Sachin Tendulkar - 49 centuries, about a 150 50+ scores. Sanath Jayasuria - The definition of aggressive batting in powerplays. Virat Kohli - No better current ODI player. Ricky Ponting - Australia's Mr. consistent AB de Villiers - 360 degree. MS Dhoni - No comments Shahid Afridi - Can't seem to find a better all rounder than him for this position. Shane Bond - Injuries plagued his career but he could have been the best. Brett Lee - Pips ahead of McGrath here. Malcolm Marshall - Never seen him play, but heard and read a lot Lasith Malinga - A bowler tailor made for limited overs.
Afridi is a once in a blue moon batsmen. In my opinion Imran Khan could be a competitor for this spot.ODI XI
Wanted a spin bowling all rounder... Enough of fast bowlers already.
Brendon McCullum - Aggressive batsman and aggressive keeper. First to score two centuries. Shane Watson - Great T20 opener, handy with the ball as well. Virat Kohli - Most Consistent T20 batsman Faf du Plessis - Excellent batsman, excellent captain. Suresh Raina - Excellent T20 record. Kamran Akmal - Edges ahead of MS Dhoni only on the account of his batting. Shahid Afridi - Man of the tournament in 2 WT20s Darren Sammy - Only captain to win the WT20 twice. Lasith Malinga - T20 superstar. Sunil Narine - Crafty off spinner. One of the most difficult to counter Rashid Khan - The newest phenom in World cricket. Chris Gayle - Universe Boss.
