The ever-growing global fantasy sports market is growing at a CAGR of 9.5% and has captured the attention of sports enthusiasts and non-sports fans. The growth of fantasy cricket is particularly steep.
Fantasy cricket allows users to create a virtual cricket team consisting of actual cricket players. Moreover, users can participate in cricket tournaments of their choice, including T20 leagues, World Cup, IPL, etc.
When physically witnessing cricket matches has been banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fantasy cricket apps keep cricket lovers enthused and hooked. However, if you are a newbie to the world of cricket, you can click on download now to get the fantasy cricket app on your iOS or Android device and get started on creating your online cricket team.
But when creating your team, remember that it is not only the batsmen and bowlers who are essential, but also wicketkeepers. Unfortunately, people tend to forget wicketkeeping is an essential part of the cricket game.
Wicketkeeping is a specialist role and has a significant impact on the overall game. An able wicketkeeper can change the face of the game, and only a few cricketers have genuinely excelled in this position. Here’s a list of the greatest wicketkeepers of all time.
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Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is the first name that comes to mind when it comes to wicketkeeping. He was known as ‘Gilly,’ and besides being one of the best wicketkeepers, he was also the captain of the Australian cricket team. He holds the record of most dismissals in One Day Internationals as a wicketkeeper.
During his active international test career, he played 96 matches and achieved 416 dismissals in 191 innings. In addition, he achieved 472 dismissals in 281 innings out of the 287 ODIs he played in his career. Gilchrist also managed 2 Champion’s Trophies, three consecutive World Cups and other accolades.
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Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher played for the South African cricket team and debuted as a wicketkeeper to fill the empty slot left by Dave Richardson. He holds the record for the most dismissals in test cricket. Boucher has achieved a total of 555 dismissals in 281 innings in the 147 test matches played. Additionally, he took 532 catches and 23 stumps at a rate of 1.975 dismissals a match.
His ODI career was also illustrious, where he achieved a total of 424 dismissals in 290 innings in 295 matches.
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni is a household name in India and the inspiration of young cricketers. In 166 innings in 90 test matches, Dhoni has achieved a total of 294 dismissals. In 350 ODIs, he has a tally of 444 dismissals in 345 innings. In the Test category, Dhoni has taken 38 stumps at 1.771 dismissals per match and 256 catches. In ODI, his stats stand for 123 stumps at a rate of 1.286 dismissals per ODI and 321 catches.
MS Dhoni has achieved six best dismissals of his career in a single test match and six best dismissals in a single ODI.
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Kumar Sangakkara
Sangakkara gave up wicketkeeping in long-form cricket, but he is still hailed as one of the most prominent names in wicketkeeping. He has made the record of most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in ODI. In his kitty, he has 151 dismissals in the Test category in 130 innings in 90 matches. Besides, he made 20 stumps at a rate of 1.677 a match and took 131 catches. In 404 ODI matches, he achieved 482 dismissals in 353 innings.
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Ian Healey
Ian Healy is an Australian cricketer known for achieving 395 dismissals in 224 innings in 119 test matches. At a rate of 1.763 per match, he made 29 stumps and took 336 catches. Healy played 168 ODI matches between 1988 and 1997 and achieved 233 dismissals in 168 innings. He even made 39 stumps at a rate of 1.386 dismissals per ODI and took 194 catches. At the time of retirement, Healy held the record for the most dismissals.
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Brad Haddin
Brad Haddin played all three formats of internal cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman for Australia. With eight stumps and 262 catches, he is known as one of the top wicketkeepers of all time. During the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Haddin scored 332 runs with an average of 55.33. In addition, Haddin has achieved 29 dismissals.
Who are noteworthy wicketkeepers at present?
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Quinton De Kock
Twenty-eight years old Quinton has excelled across formats, and his cumulative batting index is impressive. He can pluck catches out of thin air and has 452 dismissals in international cricket to his name.
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Jos Buttler
One of England’s influential players, Buttler’s ODI exploits are nonpareil. He is hailed as the best white-ball player England has ever produced. He has an average strike rate of 118.7 and 38.7 over 148 ODI matches.
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Rishabh Pant
In the world of cricket, Rishabh Pant is the latest sensation. He has earned an impressive laurel due to his remarkable exploits in the whites. Rishabh was the most crucial reason the Indian cricket team won the series against Australia 2-1. He is the only wicketkeeper who has scored Test centuries in England and India.
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Mohammad Rizwan
For the Pakistan national cricket team, Mohammad Rizwan is a breath of fresh air. He has scored a century across formats and averages a solid 43.1 in Tests and 44.4 in T20I’s with the bat. He has also achieved 105 dismissals.
These are some of the most amazing wicketkeepers in the world of cricket. To get a good fantasy cricket score, you cannot ignore wicketkeepers. Ensure to give them as much thought as you would when choosing bowlers, batsmen and all-rounders. They can heavily impact the game and change the outcome.
