Wicketkeepers who can bat are always an asset to a batting line-up.
In the last few decades, the role of the wicketkeeper in cricket has taken a big shift. Players like Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, Jos Buttler, Quinton de Kock, Kumar Sangakkara, and Rishabh Pant have played vital roles in their team’s batting, making themselves perfect all-rounders for their sides.
Another important name on the list, MS Dhoni, was a rare successful combination of captain-wicketkeeper-batsman. He did all three things effectively for team India in all three formats and his IPL side, Chennai Super Kings, for a long time and was quite successful in almost everything he did. Find out 47 glorious stats of MS Dhoni in every format he played.
This article will sort the wicketkeepers in the order of total runs scored by them in all three formats combined.
Most Runs by Wicketkeeper in all formats
| PLAYER | RUNS AS WK | INNINGS | AVERAGE | HIGH SCORE | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 17840 | 474 | 41.87 | 230 | 30/110 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 17266 | 526 | 44.96 | 224 | 16/108 |
| Adam Gilchrist (AUS) | 15252 | 424 | 38.80 | 204* | 33/79 |
| Quinton de Kock (SA) | 12588 | 331 | 40.73 | 178 | 28/68 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 11995 | 419 | 33.50 | 219* | 13/68 |
| Mark Boucher (SA) | 10463 | 447 | 29.06 | 147* | 6/61 |
| Andy Flower (ZIM) | 10249 | 283 | 40.83 | 232* | 16/69 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 9770 | 315 | 37.14 | 162* | 13/58 |
| Alec Stewart (ENG) | 8557 | 277 | 34.22 | 173 | 10/49 |
| Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 8212 | 286 | 32.84 | 185 | 9/44 |
Key Stats
Kumar Sangakkara and MS Dhoni are the only two wicketkeepers to score more than 10000 runs in a single format. Both these players have achieved the 10k runs mark while playing as wicketkeepers. Also, find the other players who are nearing the 10K runs mark in ODI here.
MS Dhoni is the only wk-batsman to bat more than 500 innings in international cricket. He has batted 526 innings in all three formats while playing as a wicketkeeper. He is also the most non-dismissed batter in the cricketing world.
Andy Flower’s unbeaten score of 232 against India in a Test match in Nagpur in the year 2000 is the highest ever score by a wicketkeeper in any format of international cricket.
The Zimbabwean is also the only wicketkeeper to score 140+ scores in both innings of a Test match. Check the non-wk batters to achieve the same feat in the longest format here.
AB de Villiers, who is not on this list, is the only wk-batsmen combo player to achieve a 50+ average with the bat among the batters who have batted at least 100 innings.
Australia’s Adam Gilchrist dominates the 100-scoring list, whereas Sangakkara tops the 50+ scores as wicketkeeper. Check the same for ODIs and Tests here.
Must Read: Kumar Sangakkara vs Adam Gilchrist – Who’s the Best?
