Ben Stokes is the top all-rounder among current players: Richard Hadlee

Retired New Zealand cricketer Richard Hadlee believes that Ben Stokes is the top all-rounder among current players. Over the years, several all-rounders like Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, and Jacques Kallis, set benchmarks for future generations. Richard Hadlee was one of the bowling all-rounders for New Zealand. He had won many games for the Kiwis by having an impact with both bat and ball. 

The former has scored 3124 runs in Test and scalped 431 wickets. He was widely acknowledged as the best all-rounders during his cricketing days. Hadlee was the first pacer to reach the 400 wickets mark in Test cricket. He also scalped 158 wickets in 115 ODIs and amassed 1751 runs for New Zealand from 1973-1990. Now players like Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, and Hardik Pandya are carrying forward the legacy that was set up by these legendary players.

Kallis was the best in the late 90s and 2000s: Richard Hadlee

Richard Hadlee also highlighted that Proteas all-rounder Kallis was the best in the late 90s and 2000s. He further reckoned that English all-rounder Ben Stokes is the best currently. In the last few years, Ben Stokes has single-handedly won games. The all-rounder also had a phenomenal 2019. He was also designated as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and also the ICC Player of the year.

According to reports, Ben Stokes is likely to miss England’s Test series against New Zealand. The all-rounder has to undergo surgery, which will rule the all-rounder out for up to three months. Stokes broke his hand while taking a catch for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Initially, it had been known that Ben Stokes might only be ruled out for six weeks, and therefore he would be able to participate in the first Test against New Zealand, which is at Lord’s on June 2. Instead, Ben Stokes will now miss both NZ Tests. The all-rounder is also unsure of participating in the three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka. He might also miss the three ODIs and three T20Is against Pakistan, which will conclude on July 20. Ben Stokes’ absence in all the upcoming series will be a major setback for England.

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