IPL 2019: Which wicketkeeper will have most dismissals this time?

No, not MS Dhoni: Dinesh Karthik has effected most dismissals among wicketkeepers in IPL history. Karthik (124) has 10 more catches (but 3 fewer stumpings) than Dhoni – giving him a lead of 7 – despite having played 16 fewer matches.

Given that both Karthik and Dhoni lead their sides – Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings respectively – they have a chance of extending their lead over others this time.

At third spot is Karthik’s KKR teammate Robin Uthappa, who will not get to keep wickets this time unless Karthik picks up an injury. Uthappa may be 27 behind Dhoni and 34 behind Karthik, but he is tied with Dhoni on most stumpings (33).

Another interesting entry in the top 10 is Kedar Jadhav’s (he is joint tenth), India’s probable answer to the batsman-who-bowls slot for the World Cup.

Here is the complete list.

Player	Team	C	S	D	M	D/M
Dinesh Karthik	DD, KXIP, MI, RCB, GL, KKR	94	30	124	153	0.81
MS Dhoni	CSK, RPS	84	33	117	169	0.69
Robin Uthappa	MI, RCB, PWI, KKR	57	33	90	114	0.79
Naman Ojha	RR, DD, SRH	65	10	75	112	0.67
Parthiv Patel	CSK, KTK, DCh, SRH, RCB, MI	59	14	73	108	0.68
W Saha	KKR, CSK, KXIP, SRH	52	18	70	95	0.74
A Gilchrist	DCh, KXIP	51	16	67	80	0.84
K Sangakkara	KXIP, DCh, SRH	36	9	45	51	0.88
KL Rahul	RCB, SRH, KXIP	18	6	24	32	0.75
Sanju Samson	RR, DD	20	3	23	33	0.70
Kedar Jadhav	DD, KTK, RCB, CSK	16	7	23	33	0.70

Sangakkara and Gilchrist have both retired from cricket, while Naman Ojha, who played one match for Delhi Daredevils last match, is likely to spend the season as backup for Rishabh Pant. With Jadhav and Uthappa also unlikely to keep, only 6 of the 11 men above may be seen in action behind the stumps.

A more recent list will probably be more relevant. Here is the table for most dismissals in IPL 2018, where, once again, Karthik and Dhoni occupy the top two slots.

Player	2019 team	C	S	D	M	D/M
Dinesh Karthik	KKR	14	4	18	16	1.13
MS Dhoni	CSK	11	3	14	16	0.88
KL Rahul	KXIP	10	1	11	14	0.79
Ishan Kishan	MI	9	2	11	14	0.79
Quinton de Kock	MI	7	3	10	8	1.25
Jos Buttler	RR	9	1	10	13	0.77
Heinrich Klaasen	RR	2	4	6	2	3.00
Wriddhiman Saha	SRH	5	1	6	11	0.55
Rishabh Pant	DD	4	2	6	14	0.43
Shreevats Goswami	SRH	5	0	5	5	1.00
Parthiv Patel	RCB	3	3	6	6	1.00

De Kock, with RCB last season, will play for MI this year alongside Kishan, which may hamper his chances to top the list this time. However, this will also provide an opportunity to Parthiv to make it up the list.

SRH already has two wicketkeepers, in Saha and Goswami. What is more, they have now been boosted by the arrival of Jonny Bairstow.