Just days before the start of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026), the debate over the greatest T20 all-rounders has flared up again. In fact, former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has made a bold claim about the best T20 all-rounder, which has turned the eyes of many people.
There have been very few players who have performed well with both bat and ball under pressure in tough matches and Hardik Pandya, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen himself are among them.
Moeen Ali names Shane Watson over Hardik Pandya
Pandya is considered one of the most dangerous match-winners in modern T20 cricket, but Moeen feels that former Australia and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hero Shane Watson has a cut above the Indian star when it comes to delivering big performances under pressure.
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The Englishman clarified that Hardik Pandya is a very strong player, but he believed that Watson was even more reliable in difficult moments in the shorter format of the game.
“I disagree that Hardik is more clutch than Watson. He is clutch, but I am saying he is not more clutch than Watson. Watson is a good player,” Moeen Ali said on the “Beard Before Wicket” podcast.
Shane Watson was the best all-rounder: Moeen Ali
He said that Watson is the most complete all-rounder in T20 cricket after Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo. “It’s tough. It obviously also depends on what you want in your team. I’m probably going to go with Watson. Because over Russell, Bravo and not in that order, Watson was the best all-rounder,” the Englishman said.
It is noteworthy that Watson has played 145 matches in IPL, where he has scored more than 3800 runs with the help of four centuries. He also took more than 90 wickets.
However, England spinner Adil Rashid had a different opinion. Rashid believes that Hardik brings something special to the ball as he can bowl at every phase of a T20 match and this flexibility makes him extremely valuable to the T20 team.
Rashid further said, “For me personally, Hardik. Also, his bowling. I think I have seen Hardik bowl a lot more than Watson. He bowls in all three stages, top, middle and death.”
Adil Rashid endorses Hardik Pandya’s bowling ability
However, the England spinner admitted that Hardik Pandya still has time to overtake the great all-rounders, and if he continues to play for a few more seasons and continues to perform with both bat and ball, he can definitely challenge Watson’s position in the debate.
“I think Hardik can take Watson’s place in this conversation. He plays for one to two more years, and then he plays even more,” Rashid said during the conversation.
Hardik has already established himself as one of the best players in IPL history. This all-rounder has played more than 150 matches in the league so far and has scored more than 2700 runs at a strike rate of around 147 and has also taken more than 75 wickets.
Now all eyes are on the upcoming IPL 2026, where Hardik will once again captain the Mumbai Indians. They will start their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 29 in Mumbai.
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