Who is better, Kumble or Van Niekerk?
Anil Kumble leads with a GOAT score of 85.9 against 85.9 for Dane van Niekerk — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Kumble vs Van Niekerk
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Anil Kumble and Dane van Niekerk level at 85.9. Anil Kumble leads on Longevity. Dane van Niekerk leads on Peak, Honours.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
KumbleWinner
85.9Kumble wins: Longevity
Van Niekerk
85.9Van Niekerk wins: Peak, Honours
Candidates
Locked to CricketShareable URL · /compare/anil-kumble-vs-dane-van-niekerk
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇮🇳 Anil Kumble
85.9
Kumble leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Anil Kumble
2. Dane van Niekerk
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through year 5 · Form index per season1. 🇮🇳 Anil Kumble5 years played · career day 3,286250 runs
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇿🇦 Dane van Niekerk5 years played · career day 1,825108 runs
-56.8% vs Kumble at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇳 Kumble | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 250 |
| 🇿🇦 Van Niekerk | 0 | 0 | 12 | 30 | 108 | 252 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 year periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | KumbleRetired | Van NiekerkRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Test wickets | 619 | — |
| ODI wickets | 337 | 100 |
| Ten wickets in an innings | 1 | — |
| Five-wicket hauls | 35 | — |
| Test bowling average | 29.65 | — |
| Ten-wicket matches | 8 | — |
| T20I wickets | — | 68 |
| ODI runs | — | 2,000 |
| Matches as captain | — | 100 |
| Best T20I figures | — | 4 |
| Dominance w25% | 82 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 90 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 84 |
| Honours w20% | 80 | 82 |
| Statistics w15% | 92 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Kumble85.9
Van Niekerk85.9
FAQ
Where does Van Niekerk beat Kumble?
Van Niekerk scores higher on peak, honours. Kumble leads on longevity.
How is the Kumble vs Van Niekerk score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Kumble: 85.9, Van Niekerk: 85.9.
What do you think?
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