In England’s Test series win over Pakistan, Jos Buttler and Mohammad Rizwan – both wicketkeeper-batsmen – were the recipients of the two Player of the Series awards. With that in mind, and given the generally high standard of wicketkeeper-batsmen around the Test game at the moment, Yas Rana takes a look at who could keep wicket in a current world Test XI:

Records are from the start of 2017, only taking into account when a player was their side’s assigned wicketkeeper.

On the fringes

Niroshan Dickwella
(1,777 runs @ 32.30, no centuries)

No player has kept wicket more often in Test cricket since the start of 2017 than Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella. He’s passed 50 14 times in that periods and on his day, there are few more entertaining batsmen in the game. But in a competitive field, Dickwella doesn’t quite make the cut at the moment.

Tim Paine
(1,043 runs @ 30.67, no centuries)

The captain of the No.1-ranked Test team in the world is another who doesn’t come that close to the current world Test XI. An excellent gloveman and a successful captain, Paine’s comparably unspectacular returns with the bat keep him away from this team.

Shane Dowrich
(1,161 runs @ 27.64, 3 centuries)

It’s been a bit feast-or-famine for Dowrich in recent times. Since the start of 2017, he’s averaged less than 22 in seven separate Test series. In the same time period, there have also been four series in which Dowrich has averaged more than 40. It’s that inconsistency that keeps him out of contention.

Jos Buttler
(664 runs @ 34.94, 1 century)

If Buttler continues the form he showed in the recently concluded Pakistan series – racking up a match-winning 75 at Old Trafford and his second Test century in the final match of the summer – he’s got every chance of pushing himself up this hypothetical pecking order. While his batting has noticeably improved, question marks around his wicketkeeping, particularly when standing up to spin, still linger.

Mohammad Rizwan
(373 runs @ 37.30, no centuries)

Rizwan may only just have established himself as Pakistan’s first-choice gloveman in Test cricket, but he’s already made a sizeably positive impact. The 28-year-old was near flawless with the gloves in tricky conditions during the England series, expertly negotiating the infamous ‘wobble’ that so often plagues keepers on these shores, irrespective of experience. A very impressive start to his Test career, but that’s all it is so far – a start.

In contention

Rishabh Pant
(814 runs @ 38.76, 2 centuries)

Before Pant made his Test debut, no Indian wicketkeeper had ever scored a Test hundred in either England or Australia. Pant, still only 22, has already hit centuries in both countries. Omitted from the side upon Wriddhiman Saha’s return from injury in late 2019, Pant reclaimed the gloves ahead of India’s tour to New Zealand in 2020. With Saha, the superior gloveman but inferior batsman, now 35, Pant has time on his side to further showcase his extraordinary talent.

BJ Watling
(1,143 runs @ 38.10, 2 centuries)

A core member of a New Zealand side who are just one ranking point off from being the No.1-ranked team on the planet. Watling is a reliable wicketkeeper whose attritional approach to batting is effective, if not particularly eye-catching – of batsmen with at least one Test hundred since the start of 2017, only Dom Sibley has scored his runs slower than Watling in the period. The stonewaller has, at times, wilted against the very best attacks. In five Tests against Australia and India at the turn of the year, Watling failed to pass 40.

Mushfiqur Rahim
(884 runs @ 55.35, 3 centuries)

Mushfiqur’s record with the bat since the start of 2017 is comfortably the best of all the players on this list, although Liton Das is currently in possession of the gloves for Bangladesh as Mushfiqur thrives with the willow in his hand. In his last 20 Tests, he averages 48.91 with four hundreds, including two doubles. Against Australia, New Zealand and India – the top three ranked sides in the world – he averages 39.59 (from two Tests), 172 (from one Test) and 55.16 (from three Tests) against them in that same period, so he can’t be accused of solely punishing some of the weaker attacks in Test cricket. Late last year, Mushfiqur made the decision to give up the gloves to focus on his batting, so a bit of persuasion might be required for him to be the keeper in this side.

Top spot

Quinton de Kock
(1,143 runs @ 38.10, 2 centuries)

Quinton de Kock’s stats in Test cricket don’t yet reflect the calibre of player he already is. When Adam Gilchrist was the age de Kock is now, he hadn’t even made his Test debut. De Kock, already 47 Tests into his career, is a pillar of a developing South Africa side in transition. A beautifully clean striker of the ball, he has the ability to change the course of a game that very few and the expectation is that he can still go up another level. With more experience in the bank, he will surely produce more performances like the one we saw at Centurion late last year on a more regular basis.