Not Dhoni Or Pant! Azharuddin Feels His Ex-Teammate Is 'No. 1 Wicketkeeper In The World'

Not Dhoni Or Pant! Azharuddin Feels His Ex-Teammate Is 'No. 1 Wicketkeeper In The World'

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Last Updated: August 11, 2025, 17:58 IST

Dhoni played a total of 538 matches across formats during his 15-year-long international career and completed 829 dismissals as wicketkeeper.

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Mohammad Azharuddin picks his ex-teammate as world's best wicketkeeper. (Picture Credit: X/@ICC, PTI and X/@BCCI)

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin on Monday (August 11) reserved big praise for his former India teammate Syed Kirmani and said that the member of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup-winning team is the world’s best wicketkeeper. Azharuddin, who shared the dressing room with Kirmani for Team India during his early days, also said that Kirmani played a big role in India’s 1983 World Cup win.

“He is the number one wicket-keeper in the world. Such a wicket-keeper was never born. It was not easy for him to do wicketkeeping with four spinners. He took many good catches in the World Cup in 1983. Even in the match when Kapil scored 175 runs, he scored a crucial 24 runs. I am very happy to attend this event today. May God give him a long life. People should also read this book and enjoy it, and I hope it is successful," Azharuddin said at the launch of Kirmani’s autobiography, ‘Stumped: Life Behind and Beyond The Twenty-Two Yards’.

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Kirmani played a total of 88 Tests and 49 ODIs for Team India from January 1976 to January 1986 and scored 2759 and 373 runs, respectively. As a wicketkeeper he completed 160 catches in Test cricket and stumped out 38 batters. In ODIs, he completed 36 dismissals (27 catches and nine stumpings).

In the 1983 World Cup, which India won under Kapil Dev’s leadership by getting the better of the West Indies in the final at Lord’s on June 25, 1983, Kirmani played all eight matches and completed 12 catches and effected two stumpings.

He finished his career with 234 dismissals (187 catches and 47 stumpings) for India in 199 innings of 137 matches. Only MS Dhoni (823 dismissals), Nayan Mongia (261 dismissals) and Rishabh Pant (244 dismissals) are ahead of Kirmani.

The world record for completing the most dismissals in international cricket is in the name of Mark Boucher. Boucher played a total of 467 matches for South Africa, ICC and Africa XI and completed 998 dismissals, which included 952 catches and 46 stumpings.

Most dismissals in international cricket

PLAYER TEAMS MATCHES DISMISSALS CATCHES STUMPINGS Mark Boucher South Africa/ICC/Africa 467 998 952 46 Adam Gilchrist Australia/ICC 396 905 813 92 MS Dhoni India/Asia 538 829 634 195 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka/Asia/ICC 594 678 539 139 Ian Healy Australia 287 628 560 68

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The legendary South African stumper is followed by Adam Gilchrist of Australia. Gilchrist played 396 matches in total for Australia and ICC and took 813 catches and effected 92 stumpings.

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First Published: August 11, 2025, 17:39 IST

News cricket Not Dhoni Or Pant! Azharuddin Feels His Ex-Teammate Is 'No. 1 Wicketkeeper In The World'

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