Previously Sportsnile listed the top 10 best wicket-keeper batsmen of the current time. But this time it will go beyond the time limit. Here our experts have brought in the list of the Top 10 Greatest Wicket Keeper Batsman of All Time. Find the authentic list based on dismissals and international runs scored as well as impacts. ICC World Cup 2023 Predictions (Winner Prediction, Odds).
Top 10 Greatest Wicket Keepers of All Time
Simply, this term can be estimated via the number of dismissals they’ve made. Efficiency is the key but one must be efficient enough to be that much perfect to be in the top 10 highest-ever dismissal holders of all time.
Wicket keeper Dismissals Record
Wicket-Keeper Name | Country | No. of Int. Dismissal | Matches Played | Dismissal Details |
Mark Boucher | South Africa | 998 Dismissals | 467 Matches | 952 Ct & 46 St |
Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 905 Dismissals | 396 Matches | 813 Ct & 92 St |
MS Dhoni | India | 829 Dismissals | 538 Matches | 634 Ct & 195 St |
Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 678 Dismissals | 594 Matches | 539 Ct & 139 St |
Ian Healy | Australia | 628 Dismissals | 287 Matches | 560 Ct & 68 St |
Quinton de Kock* | South Africa | 521 Dismissals* | 274 Matches* | 480 Ct & 41 St* |
Rod Marsh | Australia | 479 Dismissals | 188 Matches | 463 Ct & 16 St |
Brad Haddin | Australia | 474 Dismissals | 226 Matches | 449 Ct & 25 St |
Jeff Dujon | West Indies | 474 Dismissals | 250 Matches | 448 Ct & 26 St |
Denesh Ramdin | West Indies | 468 Dismissals | 284 Matches | 429 Ct & 39 St |
- De Kock is the Only Active Player from the above list who is continuing at the International Cricket(*).
- The number of international dismissal list counts the catches only as a keeper and not as an outfield player.
Greatest Wicket Keeper Batsman of All Time
Find the best wicket-keeper batters and overall ranking based on their number of runs, dismissals, as well as impacts.
Ranking | Player Name | Country | No. of Int. Runs | No. of Total Int. Dismissals |
1st | Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 15,461 Runs | 905 Dismissals |
2nd | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 28,016 Runs | 748 Dismissals |
3rd | MS Dhoni | India | 17,263 Runs | 829 Dismissals |
4th | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 14,676 Runs | 530 Dismissals |
5th | Mark Boucher | South Africa | 10,469 Runs | 999 Dismissals |
6th | AB De Villiers | South Africa | 20,014 Runs | 480 Dismissals |
7th | Jos Buttler* | England | 10,267 Runs | 458 Dismissals |
8th | Quinton De Kock* | South Africa | 11,543 Runs | 521 Dismissals |
9th | Alec Stewart | England | 13,140 Runs | 451 Dismissals |
10th | Andy Flower | Zimbabwe | 11,580 Runs | 333 Dismissals |
- This chart includes all the international catches both as a wicketkeeper and as an outfield fielder.
Greatest Wicket Keeper of All Time
According to the stats, Mark Boucher has superiority over all the wicket-keepers in history. The Protea gloveman has 998 dismissals as a keeper in the international arena while the 2nd-ranked Gilchrist has 905 international dismissals as a keeper. However, Boucher has played 71 more matches. Boucher’s dismissal per game is 2.14 while Gilly has an outstanding 2.29 dismissals per game as a keeper.
Who is the No 1 wicket keeper ever?
According to statistics, acrobatics, efficiency, impacts, accuracy, as well as ratio Adam Gilchrist is considered the number 1 wicket-keeper ever. Many cricket experts have claimed Gilly to be the best wicketkeeper in history.
So according to our experts. Adam Gilchrist is the No 1 wicketkeeper ever in Cricket history.
Best Indian Wicket Keeper of All Time
Well, there is no doubt in this case that, India has never seen a better wicket-keeper in their Blue shirts than the legendary MS Dhoni. And there is serious uncertainty about whether there will be someone better in the near future.
Best England Wicket Keeper of All Time
Alec Stewart used to be regarded as the best English keeper. But you simply can’t overtake the man who made you the world champion for the first time ever with that historic run out against NZ and led the side to its 2nd ever T20 WC glory as a keeper batter. Yeah, talking about Jos Buttle, arguably, the greatest white ball batsman ever produced by England, claimed by Nasser Hussain. No doubt, the momentum he is going on, would break all the English records as a keeper batter. However, Buttler has been a special player for limited-over cricket but has been quite average in red-ball cricket.
Best Australian Wicket Keeper of All Time
Australia is the home of legends, the home of champions. No nation has ever produced more talented cricketers in any section or department of this game. And no exception in the wicket-keeping department as well. The Aussies had the likes of Ian Healy, Rod Marsh, Brad Haddin, etc. but nobody could simply match Gilly’s stats and influence. No doubt, Adam Gilchrist is the answer to this question.
Who is the best wicket keeper batsman in cricket history?
There are so many worthy names but here are our top 10.
#10. Andy Flower
The greatest ever wk batter ever to play for Zimbabwe. He was megastar from a minnow side. Playing for such a side against all the quality attacks, Flower’s stats would definitely stun you.
#9. Alec Stewart
As we’ve revealed, he used to be claimed as his country’s best till Buttler’s arrival and has a very very healthy record both as a keeper and as a batter in both ODIs as well as Test Cricket. And yes, Stewart is still better in stats than Jos Buttler if you consider the test cricket only.
#8. Quinton De Kock
One of the best in the current world and is perhaps the only worthy competitor to Buttler. This left-handed batter is a charm for his side and is highly handy both with the bat in hand and from behind the wicket. A future legend, for sure.
#7. Jos Buttler
Another active member and is the highest-rank holder among the active international players. Buttler is simply one of the best batters in limited format history not only for England but also for the entire cricket world. The England Cricket Team captain is an efficient keeper and a top-class leader as well.
#6. AB De Villiers
Although gathered most of his dismissals as an outfield player, we simply couldn’t keep him out of the list as he has featured as a keeper on many occasions. He would rank much higher if he had served as a full-time keeper but still, with a part-time keeping role, his masterclass batting stats forced us to put him here. A role model for the current and the upcoming generations.
#5. Mark Boucher
Arguably South Africa’s best-ever Wicket-keeper batsman considering his unmatchable keeping success and above-average batting stats. He is the holder of the most number of dismissals in international cricket. QDK has already crossed his run-tally and would be interesting whether the current Protea keeper can overtake Boucher in the future or not as a whole keeper-batter package.
#4. Brendon McCullum
Another role model to many youngsters. The Bazz used to be a full-time keeper for most period of his career but during the sunset of his career, the Kiwi sensation was bored of keeping and hung up his gloves. But yet, he is definitely one of the top 5 wicket-keeper batsmen in history.
#3. MS Dhoni
Another pure legend of the game. MS Dhoni is a true gem of a keeper-batter. He has been among the best finishers in history while also has been the “best stumping maker” as well. And most importantly, it has been Dhoni’s vision behind the wicket which has made India win so many narrow games with an average bowling attack. This man could generate miracles through his vision and decisions from behind the wicket. No surprise, his fans call DRS the Dhoni Review System.
#2. Kumar Sangakkara
The name, some fans would guess to see in the no. 1 spot perhaps! With more than 28 thousand international runs and 678 dismissals as a keeper, Sangakkara is definitely one of the very best wicket-keeper batsmen in history. And in red-ball cricket, he is the very best and the chosen one for the spot perhaps. However, still he sits on the 2nd spot in our overall pick due to the specialty of the number 1 ranked man in this list.
Who is the No 1 wicket keeper batsman?
It’s the man who revolutionized the role of the keepers in cricket. The man who made cricket having a different look towards the keepers that they can be highly crucial even with the bat in hand. He paved the way for the wicket-keeper batsmen and started a new era for them. And yes, the role model of most of the modern-day keepers across nations. None other than the great Adam Gilchrist sits on this spot. He has above 15k runs in international cricket with 905 dismissals. So why is Gilly the greatest ever wicket keeper batsman in all time cricket history? Here are the answers.
Who is better Gilchrist or Sangakkara?
Adam Gilchrist. Why?
Brought in Revolution
Once there was a time when keepers used to play simply keepers and not as specialized batsmen. But this guy from Bellingen, New South Wales just changed the entire scenario for the keepers. He didn’t only introduce the thinking that keepers are not only keepers but also a crucial member of the batting lineup who can definitely score loads of valuable runs and have a sheer impact in the game.
The Runs He Scored, All Crucial
Gilly has played almost 200 matches lesser than Kumar and played generally in bigger occasions. He has scored every single run on crucial stages. Rarely played against the likes of thenceforth minnows like Bangladesh or Zimbabwe although his highest-ever ODI score came against the Zimbabweans.
The Way He Played the Game
Gilchrist was simply like a Hurricane or a Tornado. He used to destroy the opposition from the very go moment. Has rarely held himself back and always had a counter-attacking approach to the new ball. Don’t forget his 57-balls century, the 2nd quickest in test history when he made it and the 4th overall to date.
Man for the Big Occasions
He is the only player in the history of cricket to score 50+ in all 3 World Cup Finals he has played. His back-to-back half-centuries in the 1999 and 2003 wc finals were followed by the 149 against Sri Lanka in the 2007 WC Final, arguably the greatest ever WC Final innings. No cricketer could ever match such a record let alone a wicket-keeper.
The Man Who made Batters believe even Shoaib or Murali Could be Destroyed
And yes, this guy is the person who made fellow batsmen believe that superstar bowlers like Shoaib Akhter or Muttiah Muralitharan could be destroyed. Gilly has never felt shy of whacking the star bowlers out of the ground.
Most Acrobatic Keeper
Very few keepers could be as acrobatic as Gilly was. He has caught many unbelievable catches throughout his career. And he rarely used to miss chances.
As a keeper, Gilly is far far better than Sangakkara, although as a batter, Sanga might edge past Gilly. In red-ball cricket, Sangakkara was more successful although Gilly batted his entire career at number 7 or around. But as a limited-format batter, nobody could drop this guy and pick anybody else.
Who is the best wicket keeper in the history of cricket?
Australia’s Adam Gilchrist is the best wicketkeeper in the history of cricket. So Gilly is the Greatest Wicket Keeper of All Time.
Top 10 best wicket-keepers in the world
Find the Top 10 best wicket-keepers in the world in 2023 List right here. Top 10 Best Wicket-Keepers in the World in 2023.