Here are the top ten all-rounders of all time in T20I cricket, based on the ICC player rankings.
The ICC rankings rate players for batting and bowling on a scale of 1 to 1000 points, with all-rounder rankings generated by multiplying a player's current batting and bowling rankings, and dividing by 1000. The upshot of this is that for players to achieve a high all-rounder rating, they must be highly rated for batting and bowling at the same time, which is far easier said than done. No wonder then, that only one player has ever been rated over 500 as an all-rounder in men's T20Is. These are the top ten.
The numbers are the highest rating point achieved for each all-rounder.
10. Marlon Samuels
310 v Sri Lanka (2014)
A polarising figure to many, Samuels was an integral to West Indies' domination at the international level in the 2010s. An aggressive, capable batter, his off-spin darts were also more than useful (except for when his action was under the scanner). His peak rating of 310 came after the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final. He bowled four wicketless overs for just 23, and remained not out on 18 as West Indies lost via DLS to eventual champions Sri Lanka.
9. David Hussey
337 v India (2012)
The lesser-known of the Hussey brothers, David was a far more capable bowler than Mike, but perhaps still only a little better than part-time. He played his last T20I in October 2012, but in February that year achieved his peak all-rounder rating of 337. Hussey's batting in 2012 was on the decline, but his bowling helped prop his rating, as he conceded just under a run-a-ball across four innings that year.
8. Mohammad Nabi
361 v Bangladesh (2019)
It feels like Nabi has been around forever. 'The President' has been a central figure in Afghanistan's cricketing rise, and is still going strong at the age of 40. A handy off-spinner to go with his powerful batting, Nabi hit his all-rounder peak in September 2019 after his unbeaten 84 off 54 rescued Afghanistan from 40-4, before they went on to beat Bangladesh by 25 runs. Between November 2021 and September 2022, Nabi was the No.1 T20 all-rounder in the world.
7. Yuvraj Singh
363 v Australia (2013)
One of the T20 format's early stars, the enduring image of Yuvraj is his six sixes off Stuart Broad at that 2007 T20 World Cup. He did cross the 800-point mark in the ICC's batting ratings in the format, and in October 2013, hit his all-round peak after an unbeaten 77 off 35 at Rajkot helped India chase down 202 against Australia. His batting rating was over 700, and bowling rating over 500 after that game.
6. Sanath Jayasuriya
366 v New Zealand (2010)
Jayasuriya was the leading force in Sri Lanka's revolutionary ODI opening pairing of the 1990s, and his flamboyant attacking style made him a perfect fit for T20 cricket later on. He only played 31 T20Is in all, but made enough of an impact to earn a spot here. After his 24th game, in April 2010, Jayasuriya's record read 606 runs at 27, and 17 wickets at 23; more than solid particularly for the era he played in.
5. Glenn Maxwell
375 v Sri Lanka (2016)
A bonafide T20 great, Maxwell still looks in the form of his life as Australia build towards the 2026 T20 World Cup. Perhaps less of a bowler now than in the late 2010s, he remains a wily cricketer. Like Jayasuriya, Maxwell's all-round peak came early on in his career, and was after two stunning performances with the bat; 145* and then 66 against Sri Lanka. These games also briefly pushed him to No.1 in the world.
4. Shakib Al Hasan
420 v Pakistan (2015)
Shakib is quite easily Bangladesh's greatest cricketer across formats at this point, and it is no different in the shortest format. Often his team's most capable batter and bowler, he shouldered much of the burden in both departments. When he achieved his peak rating of 420 in the format, Shakib averaged 24.5 with the bat striking at 128, and had 44 wickets at 19.3 apiece.
3. Shahid Afridi
437 v New Zealand (2009)
Afridi, who slammed a 37-ball ODI century in 1996, was born to play T20 cricket. He was never one for making big runs, but always maintained an excellent strike rate. To date, he is the only Pakistani with 1,000 T20I runs at a strike rate over 150. Adding to his overall package was his quick leg spin, extremely difficult to hit. His 176 runs and 11 wickets at the 2009 T20 World Cup led Pakistan to the title, and later that year he hit his all-round peak with 22 and 1-21 against New Zealand in Dubai.
2. Mohammad Hafeez
452 v Sri Lanka (2013)
Perhaps a somewhat surprising name. Hafeez was always a solid opening batter for Pakistan, and his off-spin gave them an extra bowling option. Not many would consider him to be the second-best all-rounder ever, though. His 2013 peak came after a sustained spell of wicket-taking – 3-25 vs South Africa, 2-4 and 1-9 vs West Indies, and 1-12 and 3-30 against Zimbabwe. He did also crack two half-centuries in this period, 86 against South Africa and 54* against Zimbabwe.
1. Shane Watson
566 v South Africa (2012)
At No.1, we have the only seam-bowling all-rounder in the top ten. In fact, the next best is Angelo Mathews, at No.13. Watson is not only the only men's T20I cricketer to achieve over 550 rating points, but also the only one over 500 and one of only two over 450. Only three other players have ever touched 400 rating points, but Watson was over that mark between March 2012 and October 2013.
When he hit his peak of 566 with 70 and 2-29 against South Africa, Watson had a batting rating of 847 and bowling rating of 669 – better than Chris Gayle's batting peak and Jofra Archer's bowling peak in T20Is.
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