Wicket keeping is a thankless job which the player has to do for 50 overs in an ODI innings and sometimes more than 150 overs in a test innings. It is one of the hardest jobs in cricket and the bad thing is only when the keeper does something extraordinary or makes a small mistake he gets noticed so he has to be fully concentrated all the time on the field.
There have been a few Indian Wicket-keepers over the years that have made a huge impact for India and a couple of them have won the world cup as Wicket keepers as well. So, let’s look at the Top 5 Indian Wicket-keepers of all time.
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni -
It is without any question that MS Dhoni is the best Wicket keeper of all time. The longevity and the impact he has had over the years both a captain and a wicket keeper have been unmatched. He wasn’t a traditional wicket keeper and the experts weren’t sure how far he would go but he was so good that there is a whole new wicket keeping style inspired from him. His stars throughout his wicket keeping career are phenomenal as well.
In the 156 innings that he kept wickets for India, he had 294 dismissals out of which there were 256 catches and 38 stumpings. His stars in the ODI game are just as good as he features in the top 3 wicket keepers in ODI History with a total of 444 dismissals which included 321 catches and a very impressive 121 stumpings. It is said that there isn’t a faster pair of hands than when MS Dhoni keeps wickets.
Also Read | Players who took most catches in ODI
2. Nayan Mongia -
Before it was the MS Dhoni era in 2007 , the premier wicket keeper for India was Nayan Mongia from 1994-2001, he kept wickets for India both in tests and ODIs. He was a very good wicket keeper in a team full of stars and it was his excellent wicket keeping skills that earned him a permanent spot in the team. His stats during the time he was wicket keeper are also very good as in ODIs he had 154 dismissals to his name out of which 110 were catches and 44 were stumpings and in the test format in the 77 innings that ke kept wickets for India, he got 107 dismissals which is very impressive throughout his career.
3. Syed Kirmani -
From 1976-1986, Syed Kirmani was the wicket keeper for the Indian team and his most famous win was the 1983 world cup where he was the wicket keeper of the team and contributed to the winning of the Cup. He was an inspiration for the future generations of keepers who looked up to him as their idol and because of him more Wicket keepers came along in India. His record in test cricket is amazing, in the 151 innings that he kept wickets he got a total of 198 dismissals out of which 160 were catches and 38 were stumpings and although he did not play much ODIs, he was an impactful keeper as well.
Also Read | Indian batsmen with highest strike rate in ODIs
4. Kiran More -
From 1984-1993, Kiran More was the wicket keeper for India and he was the most aggressive wicket keeper for India till that time as he loved getting under the skin of the opposition batsmen and he was successful at it. He was very athletic keeper and learning from him more Wicket keepers became very good athletes and his stats throughout his career are great, in the 93 innings that he kept in in the ODI format he got 90 dismissals to his name and in the 90 test innings that he kept wickets in he scored 130 dismissaiss a wicket keeper.
5. Rishabh Pant -
A lot of people might be surprised at the inclusion of this name but they should just see his record his record in the test format after just keeping for 54 innings, he has emerged in the top 5 of all time and it’s just been 4 years in his wicket keeping career and there’s no limit to where he will reach in his career so thinking about the records till now and the potential for the future, he has been added in this list. Rishabh Pant has already got 109 dismissals at the time of writing this article, so the sky's the limit for this young man.
Also Read | Top 5 Wicket Keepers of All Time
