IPL 2021: Ranking the wicketkeepers of all eight teams
Although the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season was cut short when the bio-bubble was compromised, the tournament did give fans and players a taste of the athleticism and thrill that it promises. Among other reasons, the ever-increasing standards of fielding and wicketkeeping made the tournament a benchmark for cricket played everywhere else.
IPL 2021 featured four keeper-captains, one keeper-vice captain, and three foreign wicketkeepers who were also batting lynchpins for their respective teams. While some of them were able to manage their twin burdens with ease, others faltered with the bat or in the captaincy department.
Here are the rankings for the wicketkeepers from each team.
#8 Chennai Super Kings (MS Dhoni)
It is hard to fathom how little the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have relied on skipper MS Dhoni, either with bat or behind the stumps. The IPL veteran has been humble about his inferior batting form when contrasted with the likes of the all-rounders present in the team, and has thus rarely given himself chances ahead of the younger players.
Dhoni's batting returns were hardly anything to write home about this season - in 7 IPL games, he batted four times and accumulated a total of 37 runs. As CSK flew high this season as a team, their skipper's rough run of form was hidden conveniently.
#7 Mumbai Indians (Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan)
The Mumbai Indians (MI) appeared to be strong contenders after a few good wins towards the IPL's halfway mark, but have been much patchier than their dominant display over the past two seasons. Part of that was due to the lacklustre efforts of their two keeper-batsmen, Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock.
Kishan, who kept wickets in De Kock's absence during the IPL's first game, was dropped from the side after striking at a paltry 83 and averaging below 15. While De Kock scored big on one occasion, he had a season strike rate of 117 which added pressure on the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and the all-rounders.
Although MI are unlikely to tinker with their combination much if and when the IPL resumes, the returns from the duo have been disappointing.
#6 Kolkata Knight Riders (Dinesh Karthik)
Dinesh Karthik has been a vital part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) setup since 2018 - as skipper initially, but more generally as keeper and batsman. In the past, he has been a middle-order glue with his strong game against spin and has shown the ability to finish matches well with his precise placement and timing.
While he stood up on a few select occasions this IPL, including cameos during KKR's two wins, 123 runs from 7 innings were poor returns from the vice-captain. Although his keeping was mostly very solid, the lack of runs and the occasional poor DRS suggestion ensure Karthik cannot be ranked much higher in this list.