Most ODI centuries by a wicketkeeper

Someone once said that the best place to watch cricket is from behind the stump. It takes a lot of hard work to get a three-digit score in ODIs. As a wicketkeeper, if you’re getting it, what else could be better than that. A wicketkeeper plays a very crucial role in a team. We have also seen some great captains of their time who were wicketkeepers.

Nobody can forget the brilliance of Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Nowadays we can see how wicketkeepers are scaling their level in cricket. It’s not just Dhoni there are many wicketkeepers who made their name in cricket. Jos Buttler, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant are the best examples of it.

Recently we have seen the century made by the west Indian wicket-keeper Shai Hope against India. But despite his century, West Indies lost in the 2^nd ODI. Currently, he is the 2^nd best option Windies have after Nicholas Pooran who has ample experience of white ball cricket.

We can see the dominance of wicketkeeper batsmen in IPL as well. Like no one can we forget about the England captain Jos Buttler who became the orange cap winner in IPL 2022. Jos Buttler won the Orange Cap with 863 runs followed by KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock. 

This article is dedicated to the wicketkeepers who scored the most centuries in ODI cricket for their team. Here is the list of top wicketkeepers who have scored the most ODI centuries.

Let’s have a look at the individual who has scored the most ODI centuries from their side

1. Kumara Sangakkara is the best wicketkeeper-batsman Sri Lanka ever produced. He is at the top with 23 centuries. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka reached the Final of 2011 world cup. Recently under his guidance, Rajasthan Royals reached the final of IPL 2022. He was appointed as the head coach of the team. In 2015 he retired from all formats of cricket.

• Quinton De Kock another left-hander is currently part of South Africa’s all-formats squad. De Kock is an opening batsman and he also led South Africa in all formats as a captain. So far, he has scored 17 centuries for his team. He is also part of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

• The former Australian captain is at the number 3^rd. Adam Gilchrist was an attacking left-handed batsman. Gilchrist held the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One Day International (ODI) cricket until it was surpassed by Kumar Sangakkara in 2015. He retired from international cricket in March 2018. The fun fact about Gilchrist is that he was renowned for walking when he considered himself to be out.

• West Indian wicketkeeper Shai Hope is at the 4^th place. Hope is the right-handed opening batsman of Windies. Despite all his achievements he was never selected for any side in IPL. He remains unsold again in the auction of IPL 2022. Currently, hope is part of all three formats of Windies. Currently, he is doing well in ODIs and if he keeps his form like that then we may see him featuring in IPL soon.

Jos Buttler is a well-known player in white ball cricket. Recently he won the orange cap in IPL 2022 where he scored 863 runs. Buttler is currently part of Rajasthan Royals where he played a crucial role this year for his team to reach the final. He is the captain of the England team in white ball cricket. Buttler has the best strike rate of around 120 among the wicketkeeper listed above.

• AB de Villiers is another very well-known white ball cricket player. De Villiers is a name that can never be forgotten in the cricket world. He captained South Africa for all three formats. He was also part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The sad day came on 19 November 2021 when he announced his retirement from all formats of cricket. De Villiers has the highest avg of around 70.55 among the wicketkeepers.

• Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is quite famous among cricket fans as the best finisher in the world. Under his captaincy, India won the T20 world in 2007, and soon in 2011 India lift its 2nd ODI world cup. Dhoni also showed his class of captaincy in the IPL from CSK. Chennai Super Kings have won 4 IPL titles under his captaincy so far. Dhoni announced his retirement on 15 August 2020 from all international cricket formats, but he will keep playing in the IPL. Dhoni’s match-winning knock of 183* is the highest score among the wicketkeeper listed above.

Conclusion

Being a wicketkeeper-batsman is not an easy task as it requires you to be physically fit. Your responsibility gets doubled when you are the captain. We have seen players like MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, and Kumar Sangakkara who inspired many players.

All of them were captains of their respective teams and performed unexpectedly well. Nobody could redo what they did as captains for their teams. They also scored the most ODI centuries for their countries.

Right now, youngsters like KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant who played under the captaincy of Dhoni doing extremely well. We saw something special from Jos Buttler in IPL 2022 under the guidance of Kumar Sangakkara.

What else is better than learning from former wicketkeeper-batsman like Sangakkara and Dhoni. We have seen an era of great wicketkeepers and it won’t end. We may not see Dhoni, Sangakkara, or Gilchrist but their work in cricket will always be remembered.