In the game of cricket, wicketkeeping has played a critical role since its inception. Further, it is the wicketkeeper who needs to have a specific skill set compared to the other players within a cricket team. Especially in the T20 format, an excellent wicketkeeper can turn the game upside down with one heroic act, be it a diving catch, a thunderous stumping, or even with the aid of a runout.
On the other hand, with the advent of T20 cricket and especially the IPL, the playing XI generally consists of a large number of specialized batsmen, and it is the wicketkeeper that should prove his worth through his batting and wicketkeeping ability. Further, it is the evolution of wicketkeeping that has mostly seen creative techniques such as effective run-outs without looking and guiding spinners. Through this blog, we will have a deeper look at the best 3 wicketkeepers in the history of the IPL since its inception.
Most dismissals by wicketkeepers in IPL history – IPL 2008 – Till date
| S.N | Player | Matches | Innings | Dismissals |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | 234 | 227 | 170 |
| 2 | Dinesh Karthik | 229 | 212 | 159 |
| 3 | Wriddhiman Saha | 144 | 123 | 95 |
MS Dhoni
- Do you have any doubts? MSD appears to be one of the finest wicketkeepers, especially in the history of the IPL.
- He also appears to be the best wicketkeeper, even for the men in blue. MSD also goes by the nickname Thala in the CSK camp, and he has further revolutionized the game of cricket not only with his unique tactics but also with the coolest technique even behind the stumps.
- MSD has led CSK for more than 12 seasons and has already won five titles for them.
- Even he is regarded as the best middle-order batsman and one of the greatest finishers in the cricketing world.
- Till date, he has played a total of 234 games, and through his batting, he has piled up around 5000 runs, batting at number 4.
- He also has a staggering average of 39.20 with a brilliant strike rate of 135.2.
- On the other hand, his lightning speed, stumping, and quick thinking behind the wickets are unparallel.
- So far, he has also acquired 170 dismissals in the IPL, as Dhoni continues to be the best wicketkeeper in the history of this popular tournament.
Dinesh Karthik
- Dinesh Karthik appears to be the most unlucky wicketkeeper batsman who has been in the shadow of MSD throughout his prolonged cricketing career.
- So far, he has played around 229 IPL matches and scored an excess of 4000 runs throughout his career.
- Generally, he bats in the middle-order and has provided priceless cameos for his teams.
- At times, he even batted under pressure and played some of the heroic innings for his respective IPL franchises.
- He has already played for numerous franchises and has always been valued for his cameos and invaluable contribution in the cricketing world.
- In 2015, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper was brought by RCB for a whopping sum of 10.5 crore in the auction.
- Especially after his heroics in the Nidhas Trophy final, he was appointed as the captain of the KKR for a period of two and half years.
- His greatest break came in the 2022 auction, where RCB brought him for a sum of 5.5 crores. So far, in his illustrous IPL career, he has registered 159 dismissals to his name.
Wriddhiman Saha
- Wriddhiman Saha is a right-handed wicketkeeper batsman who mainly plays for the Gujarat Titans franchise in the IPL.
- Till date, he has had a pretty good tenure in the IPL as well as in the Indian Test team.
- He made his debut in the inaugural season of the IPL.
- He was the right choice for Kings XI Punjab in 2014. In that particular season, he became the leading run scorer for them.
- He even scored a century for the Kings XI Punjab against the KKR, especially in the final of that particular season, before facing an unfortunate failure.
- Because of his side strain injury, he went out of cricket for a time frame of 2 years.
- He also had a very good season from 2014 until 2017 in the history of the IPL.
- In other words, he made a comeback in the year 2020 by playing only four matches and scoring around 214 runs in all.
- So far in his illustrous IPL career, he has played around 144 matches and scored around 2500 runs in all.
- He also had 95 dismissals behind the wickets.
- The 38-year-old is currently playing for the GT franchise, and he has picked up a whopping sum of 1.90 crore.
Final thoughts
From the above discussion, it is pretty clear that out of all the three wicketkeepers, MSD has always remained at the top of the list when it comes to the history of the IPL. He is not only useful with the bat but can also do magic behind the stumps on any given match day.
Also Read Top 5 Wicket-Takers in IPL (all time)
