CWC 2019: Ranking the wicket-keeper batsmen of the tournament

The twelfth edition of the biggest tournament in the world cricket - ICC Cricket World Cup is set to kick off from 30 May in England and Wales. All the teams have at least one reserve wicket-keeper in their 15-member World Cup squads except Afghanistan, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.

A specialist wicket-keeper batsman has many roles to perform for his team - with the bat, behind the stumps and he is also the captain's main man while referring for DRS. Albeit, batting and wicket-keeping are the main aspects of a wicket-keeper batsman but the aspect 'batting' is clearly more important than the later especially in the white-ball format.

While Jos Buttler has shown the way towards being a modern day wicket-keeper batsman, the likes of MS Dhoni, Mushfiqur Rahim and others also play vital roles for their sides. We have mentioned about the first choice wicket-keeper batsman of each team and also ranked them on the basis of their performance in recent years rather than relying on their much-talked reputations.

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#10 Alex Carey

Alex Carey

Alex Carey who debuted in 2018 is the least experienced wicket-keeper batsman among all the first-choice wicket-keeper batsman in this World Cup. Averaging about only 30 with the willow, the 27-year-old batsman has scored only 429 runs with just one 50+ score.

Carey is the only wicket-keeper batsman in the 15-member World Cup squad of Australia. The Kangaroos will be worried in the ICC World Cup if the southpaw fails to step up for the team in the big event.

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#9 Sarfraz Ahmed

Sarfarar Ahmed

The Pakistani skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed has performed poorly with the willow like his team in recent times. The 32-year-old batsman has managed to hit only one century post World Cup 2015.

The right-handed batsman has the ability to play the anchor role and rotate the strike. The Pakistan skipper who led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy 2017 triumph doesn't have an attacking game. However, he has played many matches (50 innings below the No. 5 position in his ODI career) and as a finisher, which has also affected his batting performance.

#8 Mohammad Shahzad

Mohammad Shahzad

The leading run-scorer for Afghanistan in ODIs Mohammad Shahzad has been in good form of late. After the World Cup 2015, the fearless and hard-hitting Afghani batsman has amassed 1836 runs with an ordinary average of 36 and strike-rate of more than 87.

The 31-year-old batsman has also scored three centuries and eleven half-centuries during this period. The dashing opener Shahzad will be a key player for his team in the World Cup. It will be interesting to see how Shahzad performs against quality bowling attacks in the big event.

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#7 Kusal Perera

Kusal Perera

The left-handed Sri-Lankan batsman Kusal Perera has failed to justify his potential in ODIs so far as 'inconsistency' has been a major drawback for him.

After the World Cup 2015, the Kalubowila-born batsman has accumulated 1417 runs with an average of 35.42 and a good strike-rate of about 95. The 28-year-old talented player has the lowest number of dismissal per innings (20 dismissals in 45 innings - 0.444 per innings) post World Cup 2015 among all the specialist wicket-keepers in this World Cup.

#6 Tom Latham

Tom Latham

The left-handed wicket-keeper batsman Tom Latham is at the sixth position in this list. After the World Cup 2015, the southpaw has amassed 1893 runs with an average of about 38 and strike-rate of more than 86. The 27-year-old batsman possesses good technique and has the capability to play spin well.

However, Latham's batting nature is less-aggressive and is best suited to play the anchor role. The Christchurch-born player has performed decently as a middle-order batsman for New Zealand. However, he is inconsistent in ODIs as compared to his performance the whites for New Zealand. Blackcaps will expect Latham to step up in the World Cup.

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#5 Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim

The right-handed attacking batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has performed consistently for his team in recent years. Scoring more than 2100 runs with a healthy average of about 48, Rahim has been second top scorer for Bangladesh in ODIs after the World Cup 2015.

The 31-year-old has been playing the finishing role very well and has also played with responsibility in cases of collapses. The aggressive batsman has the best strike-rate (87.42) after World Cup 2015 among all the Bangladeshi batsmen who have played more than 50 ODI innings.

#4 Shai Hope

Shai Hope

The Windies wicket-keeper batsman Shai Hope has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. The 25-year-old batsman has been leading scorer for West Indies in ODIs since 2017 with 2060 runs and an excellent average of more than 50.

The Barbados-born batsman has a good technique and is pretty consistent with the bat. However, the batsman needs to work on his strike-rate which has been lesser than 80 since 2017.

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#3 MS Dhoni

The ex-captain of the Indian team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has not been at his best since World Cup 2015. The experienced player is still the best wicket-keeper in the world but has been facing problem with the willow in recent years. The right-handed batsman had found it too difficult to rotate the strike especially against spinners and plays a lot of dot balls as a result.

However, the 37-year-old is very capable to arrest the collapse and has done this job for his team. The wicket-keeper batsman from Ranchi has amassed more than 2000 runs with a good average of about 44 in 61 innings after the last World Cup. However, his batting strike-rate is about 81 which is not questionable in modern-day cricket.

He has the most number of stumpings (35) against his name in this period. Howbeit, the most successful Indian skipper in ICC tournaments was in great form in IPL 2019 and Indian fans will hope that the veteran carries his good form in the World Cup.

#2 Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock

The South-African opening batsman Quinton de Kock has been the best batsman for his team with 2971 runs and an average about 50 after World Cup 2015. The southpaw has an attacking game which is clearly justified by his batting strike-rate of 100.85 in this period.

The 26-year-old batsman from Johannesburg has scored eight centuries and sixteen half-centuries since the last World Cup, which is highest among all the wicket-keeper batsmen.

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#1 Jos Buttler

The English wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler has been in tremendous form and is one of the best English batsmen currently. After the last World Cup which was held in Australia, the 28-year-old batsman has amassed 2251 runs with an average of more than 50 and an excellent strike-rate of about 125.

Despite playing the tough role of a finisher, the attacking batsman has performed consistently for his team In recent years. The right-handed destructive batsman who considers IPL 2018 as a turnaround in his career has been averaging 65 with a fantastic strike-rate of about 126 for England post IPL 2018.

Often known for his destructive batting prowess, Buttler is also a safe wicket-keeper behind the stumps. After the World Cup 2015, he has the most number of dismissals (85 catches and 21 stumpings) in One-Day Internationals and also the best dismissal rate of 1.452 among all the wicket-keepers in the world.