Ranking the top 5 overrated cricketers of all time

In cricket's rich history, the distinction between "elite" and "overrated" can sometimes become muddled. Great marketing efforts, vocal supporter bases, or a few standout performances can inflate a player's status, sometimes more than the numbers alone warrant. Here, we take (admittedly subjective) consideration of five players whose public profiles may exceed their on-field payoff.

1. Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Much-promised as the next in line after Virat Kohli, Babar Azam is heeded with huge respect and business appeal, across Pakistan and the world. He crossed the 8,000-ODI-run mark early in his career and has an ODI batting average north of 55. 

Yet while he regularly tops ICC white-ball rankings, his record against the truly top-tier sides (Australia, England, South Africa and India) is noticeably more modest: his Test average dips into the mid-40s, and his strike rate in T20Is hovers around 125—hardly the blistering tempo fans expect in the shortest format. In Tests, in particular, Babar's method, elegant as it is, has at times been overwhelmed by quality pace, an unreliability that critics cite when wondering if he really does have a place in cricket's all-time great debate. 

2. Tim David (Australia/Singapore)

Emerging with a demented IPL cameo in 2021, Tim David rapidly established himself as the preferred option for teams needing rapid late-innings runs. In T20Is, his average stands at around 35 with a spine-tingling strike rate of 167.88, but wash out an odd couple of off-days and those figures plummet, and they all too often have. 

In franchise leagues overall, David's returns can fluctuate wildly, with a 50-ball 80 one week, single-figure failures the next. His big-hit talent is unassailable, but a career predicated on infrequent excellence and sometimes against amateurish bowling calls into question the "star" rating he enjoys in high-pressure games. 

3. Hardik Pandya (India, Tests only) 

Hardik Pandya is a T20 giant—an out-and-out all-rounder whose batting and bowling have driven Mumbai Indians to several IPL championships. But his Test credentials are a different story: in 11 games, he's scored about 528 runs at about a 32-average, with no century to speak of.

More problematically, his whites bowling has been patchy, tending to leak runs instead of blocking them. Much to the contrary, media stories sometimes compare him to the best Test all-rounders, an expectation whose abbreviated red-ball returns have not always borne out. 

4. Ben Stokes (England) 

Ben Stokes's heroics, whether it is the Headingley 2019 miracle or the Ashes-rescuing 155 at Brisbane, are the stuff of folklore. But outside of those glimpses, his Test batting has dropped off, and since January 2024, he's managed a paltry 26.80 across 28 innings with a solitary century in that period.

For a man who has been termed so frequently "England's greatest all-rounder," the glaring contradiction at the crease and a tendency to disappear against pace-oriented onslaughts have catalysed a controversy that we are putting Stokes on too lofty a pedestal, motivated more by nostalgia rather than the current form?

5. Smriti Mandhana (India Women) 

With her elegant cover drives and belligerent style, Smriti Mandhana is a poster child for Indian women's cricket, and she has an ODI average of 46.34, one of the highest in women's cricket with over 100 matches. But outside the prevailing showings on home soil, her scores have declined in more challenging foreign environments. She has also been failing to score runs in important games such asthe  World Cups or knockout matches. As much as her brilliance cannot be questioned, detractors point out that her international consistency has not yet caught up with the superstar billing she has in India.

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