All-Time Best Wicket Keeper & Current Best Wicket Keepers List in World Cricket
Best Wicket Keepers: Cricket as a sport has seen so many great wicketkeepers in the world. They have done an incredible job behind the stumps and made a huge impact on the team’s success over the years. Wicketkeeping is a tough job and a very thankless job in this sport as it requires a lot of extra effort on the field. Also, it is a very important job to do in cricket. Today, we will talk about some of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket and see their numbers as well. So let’s dive into it quickly.
NOTE: We will pick the top 4 former wicketkeepers and the top 4 current wicketkeepers as well. The sample size of our picks should be big enough to see their impact on the team. So let’s start.
Top 4 Best Wicket-Keepers in World Cricket (All-Time)
1. Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is considered as one of the best wicketkeepers in world cricket to date. His wicket-keeping skills are there to see for everyone and he has done a tremendous job for Australia for so many years.
The wicket-keeper batter has played 96 test matches and took 379 catches, did 37 stumping, and 4 run-outs in this format. In 287 ODIs, he has taken 417 catches and did 55 stumpings and 14 run-outs. He has taken 17 catches as a wicketkeeper and did a run out in 13 T20Is.
Gilchrist was very explosive with the bat for Australia. In ODIs, it is not easy to keep wickets and then open the inning. In tests as well, he has played so many match-winning knocks with the bat in the middle or lower middle order for the team.
2. Mark Boucher
The South African was like a bird who could fly all over the place to catch/stop the ball. It was very hard for the batters to hit the ball past Boucher. That’s why the South African has the most number of dismissals as wicket keeper in world cricket.
He has accomplished 998 dismissals (including stumpings) in his 467 international games across all three formats. Although he has the most dismissals in world cricket, he could have played more. But an injury in the eye while playing cut short his career. But he is one of the best wicket keepers in the world.
3. MS Dhoni
Known for his quick hands, MS Dhoni is considered as one of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket. Along with wicket-keeping, he has a very sharp mind as captain and he is the only captain who won all ICC titles. With the bat as well, he has played so many match-winning knocks for the team.
MS Dhoni has a sharp mind and we have seen some of the instances where he played some tricks behind the stumps to get the batter out. One of the most iconic was a run-out in the ICC WT20 2016 against Bangladesh to win the game on the last ball.
MS Dhoni has accomplished 829 dismissals in his 538 international matches.
4. Ian Healy
We have picked another Aussie on the list. This shows the dominance of Australians in world cricket over the years. He has 628 dismissals in 287 games as a wicket-keeper.
↻ Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: T20 Head-To-Head Records
Top 4 Best Wicket-Keepers in World Cricket Currently
1. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has to be on the list of current best wicket-keepers in the world. When he entered international cricket, he was seen more as a very impactful batter along with decent wicket-keeping skills. But over the years, he has improved a lot as a wicketkeeper. He has kept well in alien conditions and even on those turning wickets at home where wicketkeeping is a very tough task.
With the bat, we have seen him winning so many big games for India over the years, especially in test cricket. Unfortunately, he met with a car accident on the eve of New Year 2023. We will see him in IPL 2024.
Pant has 206 dismissals (including the stumping) in 129 international games across formats.
2. Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan has been one of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket currently. After Sarfaraz, he has owned this position for Pakistan. In 194 international games, he has accomplished 213 dismissals including stumping.
3. Ben Foakes
Not a strange pick in this list. In his short test career of 24 matches, he has shown great wicket-keeping skills. Currently, you cannot look beyond him as one of the best wicket-keepers in the world. In the ongoing India-England test series, he has kept well where most of the overseas keepers struggle in this part of the world.
4. Quinton de Kock
Although he has retired from ODIs and Tests, he is still an active cricketer in T20Is. And it’s not a long time since he has retired from the other two formats. That’s why we have considered him as the current best wicket-keeper in the world.
He made life easier for AB de Villers in the Proteas squad as AB has kept wicket for the Proteas for a while. But Quinton de Kock came out well in this role for the team and has done well over the years.
So these are a few of the best wicket-keepers we have picked. There are so many other good wicketkeepers like Brad Haddin, Kumar Sangakkara, Rodney Marsh, etc. But we can’t pick all of them as the article will get bigger and bigger. Thank you for reading. Keep following us for the latest updates.
