Imran Khan

Faisalabad: Imran Khan wasn’t just an inspirational leader, but a hugely successful allrounder (362 wickets and 3,807 runs in Tests; 182 wickets and 3,709 runs in ODIs). He could walk into any team as a bowler and, towards the end of his career, often played more as a batsman. The other day, Pakistan’s only World Cup-winning captain (now a Member of the National Assembly) spoke to The Telegraph, from Islamabad, exclusively on allrounders. Incidentally, he had kind words for Ian Botham, despite having been involved in a court case with him (and Allan Lamb).

The following are excerpts:

On allrounders

Strictly speaking, an allrounder is one who can either make the XI as a batsman or even as a bowler... To my mind, currently, the one genuine allrounder is Andrew Flintoff. He has it in him to make the England line-up either as a batsman or a frontline bowler... I’m not counting Jacques Kallis as, today, he can’t make the South African side as a frontline bowler.

On whether wicketkeepers should also be categorised as allrounders

Definitely somebody like Adam Gilchrist... But, otherwise, I’ll prefer sticking to the conventional definition... (After a pause) Kamran Akmal is, of course, shaping up very well and while I haven’t watched much of (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, he seems to be taking the right steps... I may have something more to say once this tour ends.

On his top three allrounders (in order of selection)

Gary Sobers: He was head and shoulders above everybody... I played against him once, in probably his last County match, and was thrilled to bowl him out... He was an incredible batsman and, in his prime, bowled quick... He could perform the spinner’s role, too... Any captain would love to have him.

Ian Botham: Could play classy innings and also cause havoc in just one spell... Had the ability to make a huge impact in either role.

Kapil Dev: Quite like Botham... A big performer both with ball and bat... A very fine fielder as well...

On whether he had difficulty in leaving out somebody

Richard Hadlee... Never an outstanding batsman, but was a devastating bowler in certain conditions... He wasn’t like Dennis Lillee, though, who could bowl on any wicket.

On Wasim Akram

The greatest left-arm quick... I wouldn’t label him as an allrounder.

On Andrew Flintoff

Had a superb 2005, but whether he’s a great or not is only going to be known over a period of time. I have high regard, but won’t place him alongside the Bothams... He hasn’t played enough... He hasn’t been a consistently big performer either.

On Irfan Pathan

Has the potential to be an allrounder, but must work twice as hard... Remember, an allrounder has to perform two roles and, so, has to work on two areas... Pathan, however, shouldn’t neglect his bowling while improving as a batsman... For his career, that can be fatal... Often, my own batting suffered when my workload as a bowler became heavy... When that happened, I had to work that much harder (on batting).

Finally, on whether the experimental rule allowing super-subs in ODIs will actually encourage allrounders

(Passionately) It must be scrapped... Cricket is an 11-a-side game and that’s where captaincy comes into play.... A captain has to get his combination right, not try to rectify things by calling on the super-sub... That’s the challenge... I don’t understand why the ICC went for such an experiment... In principle, though, I don’t have a problem with the (experimental) power plays...