From afar, T20I’s might seem like a contest tailor-made for the big hits and sheer extravagance. Or in an extreme case of a good bowling performance, it is the bowlers who leave an impression, but mind you, instances like this are extremely rare.
One crucial group which deserves a lot of credit in the shortest form of the game remains that of the wicketkeepers. This might seem a little exaggerated at first, but on closely analyzing, it makes a lot of sense to include the men behind the stumps as an extremely significant stakeholder group in the format.
T20’s remain extremely volatile and often a moment of brilliance is more than enough to cause a shift in the overall outcome of a game. It is often one sharp stumping or a scintillating catch by the keeper, which is enough to fluctuate the fortunes.
Keeping the significance of the wicketkeepers in mind for the shortest form of the game, below, we have a look at the top five keepers with the most number of dismissals in a T20I in 2017.
- Tim Paine – 3 :
Tim Paine might have ended on the wrong side of the town, as Sri Lankan all-rounder Asela Gunaratne’s heroics won the show and series for Sri Lanka, but his keeping skills were surely positive for the Australians. Making his comeback to international cricket during the three-match T20I series, the Tasmanian was at the helm of three dismissals, all catches behind the stumps. Ultimately though, it was Sri Lanka who won the game in an absolute thriller of a contest.
- Quinton De Kock – 3 :
De Kock featured thrice in the same list for Test matches, and he is a part of the list for T20I’s too. De Kock was involved in three dismissals in the one-off T20I against New Zealand at Auckland in February. Putting up a colossal 185 on board, South Africa didn’t have too many issues defending the total, as the hosts were no match to the Proteas. De Kock was involved in the dismissals of Glenn Philips, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi as New Zealand’s chase derailed against the might of the Proteas bowling.
- Mohammad Shehzad – 3 :
Afghanistan’s blistering keeper batsman Mohammad Shehzad, who has already aced quite a few T20 records, finds himself on the list of yet another elite feat. In a T20I against Oman at the Dubai Sports Club Stadium, Shehzad was involved in 3 dismissals. Two of those were catches behind the stumps, while he also had a stumping to his name.
- MS Dhoni – 4 :
When we talk about wicket keeping records, how can MS Dhoni remain ignored? Undoubtedly the best keeper the format has ever seen, Dhoni was involved in four dismissals against Sri Lanka in the recent T20I at Cuttack. After finishing the innings off in style, Dhoni was crisp behind the wickets, as he impacted two catches and an equal number of stumpings. Fair to say, Dhoni remains a dream wicketkeeper for any spinner!
- Dinesh Chandimal – 4 :
In January, Sri Lanka stunned one and all as the side full of rookies went on to defeat South Africa in the second T20I. A major reason behind restricting the hosts to a below-par total of 113, was the solid keeping of Dinesh Chandimal. The highly-rated keeper batsman was behind four dismissals, three of which were catches and a solitary stumping.
Below, is the table showing the list of the ten wicketkeepers with the most number of dismissals in a T20I in 2017.
| Wicket Keeper | Team | Dismissals | Against | Venue |
| Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 4 | South Africa | Johannesburg |
| MS Dhoni | India | 4 | Sri Lanka | Cuttack |
| Mohammad Shehzad | Afghanistan | 3 | Oman | Dubai |
| Quinton De Kock | South Africa | 3 | New Zealand | Auckland |
| Tim Paine | Australia | 3 | Sri Lanka | Geelong |
| J. Vare | P.N.G | 3 | U.A.E | Abu Dhabi |
| C. Walton | West Indies | 3 | Afghanistan | Basseterre |
| Tim Paine | Australia | 3 | India | Guwahati |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | Pakistan | 3 | Sri Lanka | Abu Dhabi |
| M. Mosehle | South Africa | 3 | Bangladesh | Potchefstroom |
