Cricket is a South Asian staple. Meet a stranger in India, and cricket is one of the easiest topics to bond on in a conversation.
A typical top match in Indian Premier League sees millions of fans following proceedings, with thousands trooping to bookmakers, including those that offer crypto hockey betting, to stake on their favorite batsmen and wicketkeepers.
But you may have asked: who are the best wicketkeepers cricket has ever seen?
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
Kumar Sangakkara was a prolific left-arm hitter and an impressive wicketkeeper for the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He was born on October 27 1977, and represented his country between 2000 and 2015. He scored over 28000 runs in his career.
He debuted against Pakistan in July 2000 and played 538 international matches for his country. Meanwhile, he had 678 dismissals, stumping 119 times with 584 catches. He also scored 63 centuries, the most by a Sri Lanka cricketer.
He won the 2014 T20 World Cup and came second twice in ICC World Cup. He won the 2012 Test Player of the year award and ODI player of the year twice.
Mark Boucher (South Africa)
It is arguably “illegal” to talk about the wicketkeepers in cricet and keep Mark Boucher out of the discussion.
Yes, Mark Boucher is one of the greatest wicket-keepers to play cricket. He was born on December 3 1976 and represented the South African national cricket team between 1997 and 2012.
He had a memorable debut in October 1997 debut against Pakistan, moving on to play 295 ODI and 147 test games for South Africa across his career.
While Mark was clearly blessed with talents, his records with dismissals raise eyebrows. His total of 998 international dismissals is the highest by any wicketkeeper in cricket history.
Further, he had 555 test dismissals and 424 ODI dismissals, with 935 total catches and 45 stumps. He also had a record six catches in one test match.
Also, he won the South Africa Player of the Year 3 times and retired in July 2012. Boucher is the South African national team coach.
MS Dhoni (India)
Dhoni is an idol in India, and for good reason. The cricket darling led the Indian team to many successes between 2004 and 2019.
MS Dhoni was born on July 7, 1981, and is one of the most successful captains and greatest finishers, with 10000+ runs.
You risk being overwhelmed when ushered into Dhoni’s trophy room. Notably, he won the World Cup, ICC World T20, and ICC Champions Trophy between 2007 and 2013. Also, he is one of the all-time wicketkeepers in cricket history.
Meanwhile, he started his ODI career on December 23, 2004, against Bangladesh. He had a total of 829 dismissals in 538 matches for India.
Dhoni also stumped 123 times in ODI matches with 321 catches, and in his test games, he had 38 stumps and 256 catches. He has a record 0.08 fastest stumping, and he also stumped 6 batters in one ODI match.
Although he still plays in the IPL, Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020. Apart from his trophies, he has many awards, which include 2 ICC ODI Player of the Year, ICC Men’s ODI team of the decade, etc.
Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
It is not unnatural for an Australian cricket fan to remember Adam’s name before his (fan’s) surname.
Yes, that is how loved he is.
Adam Craig Gilchrist is a former Australian international cricketer born on November 14 1971. He had a stellar career playing the batting role and is regarded as the greatest wicketkeeper in cricket history. The former captain of Australia holds the record of the wicketkeepers with the highest number of ODI dismissals.
Meanwhile, his debut was in a first-class match in 1992. He had a 2.178 dismissal average with 37 stumps and 379 catches in his 96 career Test matches. Also, he stumped 55 times and had 417 catches in his 287 ODI games. Gilchrist had a total of 905 dismissals across his 396 matches.
Further, he won the ICC World Cup 3 times and held many records. For instance, he had the greatest innings in World Cup with his 2007 149 off 104 balls versus Sri Lanka.
He was Sport Australia and ICC Hall of Famer in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Rounding up our article, wicketkeepers are crucial in a cricket team, and every team must have a great one, despite batsmen often being excessively glorified at their expense.
The legendary wicketkeepers mentioned in this article will be forever remembered for the delight they dished us on the pitch.