Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya kicked aside as Thisara Perera picks the greatest all-rounder

Sri Lankan Lions captain Thisara Perera took part in a fun ‘This or That’ challenge, where he had to choose the better all-rounder between two legendary cricketers across the world during the Asian Legends League 2025 in Nathdwara.

Thisara Perera had to make some tough choices, but he ultimately declared South African great Jacques Kallis as the best all-rounder of them all. The challenge kicked off with a face-off between Sanath Jayasuriya and Yuvraj Singh, with Perera favoring Sri Lankan great Jayasuriya.

Thisara Perera picks Jacques Kallis as the greatest all-rounder

Thisara Perera then picked the Sri Lankan legend over Shane Watson but later gave England’s Andrew Flintoff the edge over Jayasuriya. Flintoff continued to be a hot pick for Perera, who even overlooked the Indian all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.

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However, Flintoff made the exit when Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi entered the mix. But when Ben Stokes came into the picture, Perera picked the English Test captain. In the final round, Perera picked Jacques Kallis over Ben Stokes, crowning the Proteas legend as the best all-rounder.

Notably, the Asian Legends League 2025 is being hosted at Nathdwara’s newly built Miraj International Cricket Stadium. Perera-led Sri Lankan Lions defeated Afghanistan Pathans in the eliminator on March 15 at the Miraj International Cricket Stadium in Udaipur.

It will be a very huge ground in the future: Thisara Perera on Udaipur venue

Sri Lankan Lions will now face either Indian Royals or Asian Stars in Qualifier 2 of the Asian Legends League 2025 on March 17 at the same venue in Udaipur, where the final will be held on March 18. Perera also shared the experience of playing the tournament in Udaipur.

Thisara Perera was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda, “It's a really nice city. Actually, I played for a lot of IPL teams and all over India. So, I think this one is much better than a few grounds. I think it's huge, and it's nicely built by the Miraj Company. Definitely, it will be a very huge ground in the future.”

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Notably, Indian Royals have some big names in the squad like Shikhar Dhawan, Munaf Patel, S Badrinath, Shreevats Goswami, and Barinder Sran.

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Ben Stokes sit out of the IPL 2025, while Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja gear up for action

Meanwhile, Perera was given only three current players to pick between, and they were Ben Stokes, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. While Stokes withdrew from the upcoming IPL 2025, Jadeja and Hardik—who recently won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025—are gearing up for the tournament.

While Hardik will captain Mumbai Indians, Jadeja is set to represent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming IPL 2025. However, Pandya will miss the five-time IPL champions’ tournament opener due to last season’s slow-over rate offense.

Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will face each other in their IPL 2025 opener on March 23 at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The season opener will see a faceoff between KKR and RCB at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 22.