At a glance
- Dhruv Jurel has statistically been the best wicket-keeper in the IPL so far this season
- 7 of the league’s 10 best performing keepers are Indian
- Rishabh Pant’s prowess with the bat still gives him the edge, despite the excellence of other glovemen
India’s Abundance of Wicket-Keepers
As a nation with a population of well over one billion people, India’s stocks when it comes to cricket are always going to be better than most.
One asset that they are particularly rich in is wicket-keeper batters, with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan all regularly strutting their stuff on the IPL and international stage.
Although Pant’s athleticism and dynamism with the bat mean that he is currently locked in as India’s number one wicket-keeper, there is room for debate about who is the country’s best out and out glove gloveman.
So, what do the stats from this year’s IPL so far have to say on the matter and who is closest to rivalling Pant for the gloves come India’s next assignment?
7 out of the IPL’s top 10 performing wicket-keeper’s so far this season have been Indian, which speaks to the depth of India’s wicket-keeping resources, as well as the fact that India hosts the tournament.
Further evidence of this comes from the fact that KL Rahul, a stalwart of Indian cricket, does not even make the top 10 and currently comes in as the eighth best performing Indian wicket-keeper.
| Player | Matches | Total Dismissals | Catches | Stumpings | Most Dismissals in an Innings | Dismissals per Game |
| Dhruv Jurel | 9 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 3 (3 catches) | 1.555 |
| Jos Buttler | 9 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 4 (4 catches) | 1.222 |
| Jitesh Sharma | 9 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 4 (4 catches) | 1.222 |
| Rishabh Pant | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2 (2 catches) | 1 |
| Prabhsimran Singh | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 (2 catches) | 0.625 |
| Ishan Kishan | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 (2 catches) | 0.666 |
| Sanju Samson | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 (2 catches) | 0.5 |
| Salil Arora | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Quinton de Kock | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 (1 catch, 1 stumping) | 1 |
| Tim Seifert | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 (1 catch, 1 stumping) | 1 |
Dhruv Jurel
The Rajasthan Royals’ gloveman has been by far and away the IPL’s best keeper this season. With 14 dismissals from his nine games so far, Dhruv Jurel is three clear of his nearest rivals Jos Buttler and Jitesh Sharma.
Jurel also boasts the highest dismissals per innings rate of 1.555, which is also comfortably clear of Buttler and Sharma.
Beyond just the stats, Jurel’s glovework has caught the eye on a number of occasions this year.
His jaw-dropping stumping of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ Cameron Green is the most noticeable example of this, when he managed to flick the ball back onto the stumps after diving down the leg-side to retrieve a wayward Ravi Bishnoi delivery.
Reports suggested that Jurel completed the stumping in an incredible 0.0007 seconds.
Jurel also pulled off an incredible one-handed, diving catch against Lucknow Super Giants, following a thick edge from Mayank Yadav off Jofra Archer.
The Royals keeper has been Pant’s Test match understudy for a while now and has always stepped up, when his country have needed him.
Although his glovework is statistically clear of Pant’s, Jurel does not have the same ability as Pant to take the game away from an opponent regardless of the position that he finds himself in.
Jitesh Sharma
11 dismissals from nine games is also a tidy return for Sharma, who plies his trade for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Alongside Buttler, Sharma also has the best performance in an individual game, with four catches.
At 32 though and with 16 relatively uninspiring T20 Internationals behind him, Sharma is unlikely to be knocking on the selectors door for a place behind Pant in India’s next squad.
Rishabh Pant
The current holder of the Indian gloves has had a decent season behind the stumps. He is ticking along tidily at one dismissal per game, with eight catches from his eight games.
Although Pant is a very capable keeper, the strongest asset that he brings to the Indian side is his ability with the bat.
In years gone by, Pant’s batting may have got him into the side as a standalone bat, but given Indian’s batting strength, giving him the gloves allows them to further bolster their middle order.
By picking Pant as their keeper, they also do not have to sacrifice one of their star batters for a more traditional wicket-keeper.
Prabhsimran Singh
The Punjab Kings wicket-keeper is more known for his batting than his keeping, which his statistics clearly demonstrate.
Just the five catches for Prabhsimran Singh so far, although he has excelled with the bat at the top of the order alongside Priyansh Arya. Singh’s low returns are also attributable to the Kings’ profligacy with the bat as well.
Although they have lost just the one match so far this season, their batting power has got them out of more than one self-inflicted hole this season. The most noticeable example of this was when they chased 265 to beat the Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson
Both Kishan and Samson starred in respective parts of India’s recent T20 World Cup win, but solely with the bat as Pant took the gloves. Their identical returns of three catches and one stumping this season belie their value to the Indian side.
At the World Cup, Kishan spearheaded India’s important victory over Pakistan, whilst Samson was named the Player of the Tournament.
Both Kishan’s and Samson’s strength does come from their batting though, with Samson rarely having kept for India, despite being the more specialist keeper of the two.
They have the power to force their way into the Indian side as pure batters, which the likes of Jurel and Sharma have been unable to do as of yet.
Salil Arora
The last Indian keeper occupying a place in the top 10 best performing glovemen may well be one for the future. Salil Arora is the youngest on the list at just 23 years of age and also has the least dismissals of the Indian keepers with three.
There is still time for Arora to improve though, whilst his keeping may also benefit from more time with the bat as his career progresses. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s stacked top order has meant that opportunities for Arora have been few and far between.
Usually, keeper-batters flourish more when they are batting, as this means that keeping is not their only way to contribute to their side.
Overall, the stats show that Jurel has been the IPL’s standout keeper for so far this year. This marries up with his role as Pant’s understudy over the past few years.
Although, Pant’s proficiency with the bat means that his spot is in little danger, the performances of Jurel and some of India’s other keepers mean that he will be under pressure, if his form does drop off.
In an age where keepers are often picked for their batting, Jurel’s performances show the merit that out and out glovemen still have.
The picture in the Indian team though means that he will likely have to improve his power game, if he is to muscle his way in ahead of Pant, Kishan and Samson.
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