4 Wicket-Keepers with 300+ Catches in ODI Cricket

Former India skipper, MS Dhoni became just the fourth wicket-keeper in the world to take 300 catches in ODI cricket against England in the second ODI at Lords.

He has always been a street smart wicket-keeper and had relied on his instincts to give him good results.

Like his batting, MS Dhoni has never been a technically sound wicket-keeper. He takes catches in the unconventional ways. When it comes to stumpings, there is hardly any keeper in the world to whip off the bails faster than Dhoni.

Now let us have a look at four wicket-keepers who have taken 300 or more catches as an ODI wicket-keeper.

Adam Gilchrist- 417 catches

Gilchrist was undoubtedly the greatest wicket-keeper batsman of his generation.

Gilchrist was one of the agilest wicket-keepers behind the stumps. He was one of the safest pairs of hands behind the wickets and hardly missed anything which came his way. In ODI cricket, he holds the record for most catches with 417 in his kitty.

The southpaw was also one of the most feared batsmen of his generation. Along with Hayden, the duo tormented several star bowling line-ups at the top of the batting order.

Mark Boucher- 402 catches

The former South Africa wicket-keeper holds the record for most dismissals as a wicket-keeper in international cricket.

Boucher had inflicted 998 dismissals in his international career which is way ahead of Gilchrist who is on the 2^nd position. However, when it comes to most catches in ODI cricket as wicket-keeper, Boucher occupies the 2^nd spot with 402 scalps.

He was a very safe keeper and undoubtedly the best South Africa ever had. Boucher was also a useful lower middle-order batsman and scored some good knocks for his national team coming in the lower middle order.

Kumar Sangakkara- 383 catches

The former Sri Lanka stalwart is another legend of the game. He wasn’t a proper wicket-keeper to start of his career. However, as his career progressed, he went on to become one of the safest pairs of hands behind the stumps.

Despite not being a regular wicket-keeper, he holds several records as a wicket-keeper. He is 3^rd on the list with most catches in ODI cricket.

Sanga had taken 383 catches in his ODI career before retiring after the 2015 World Cup. Sangakkara is also regarded one of the finest batsmen of all time. He remains the only player in the world to smash four consecutive ODI centuries during World Cup 2015.  

MS Dhoni- 300 catches

MS Dhoni joined the elite list during the 2^nd ODI against England at the iconic Lord’s Stadium in London.

He was never a technically sound wicket-keeper like a Gilchrist or a Boucher to start off with. His methods were different were equally effective. He uniquely takes catches but when you see his record you don’t have any room for any complaint.

He took the catches of Ben Stokes and Jos Butter to join the list. Dhoni is also one of the finest limited-overs batsmen and is nearing 10,000 runs in ODI cricket.

For a batsman who has batted the majority of his life at the lower middle order, it is indeed a special achievement which might be achieved in the ongoing series.