The days were gone when the players were picked in the Playing XI only for their wicketkeeping skills. Players like Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, MS Dhoni, Quinton de Kock, and Rishabh Pant have changed how wicketkeepers are viewed.
Especially in the shorter formats, the role of wicketkeepers has become much more complicated.
However, in Test cricket, there are wicketkeepers who have donned various roles in the team. Some have opened the innings, few strengthened the team’s core middle-order batting, and few have been solid lower-order finishers.
Sangakkara walked in at No.3 in most of his highly-achieved career. Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim and West Indies’ Shai Hope have been prime examples of the combination – wicketkeeper cum middle-order batter. MS Dhoni played a similar role as another great wk-batter, Adam Gilchrist, but in his own style.
Rishabh Pant is the new sensation who has been a game-changer for the Indian lower-order batting in whites. He already has five centuries to his name, four coming in testing overseas conditions.
This article, however, will list the wicketkeeper batsmen who have scored the most centuries in Test cricket history.
Most Centuries by a Wicket Keeper in Test Cricket
| WICKET KEEPER | TEST CENTURIES | INNINGS | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Gilchrist (AUS) | 17 | 137 | 204* |
| Andy Flower (ZIM) | 12 | 100 | 232* |
| Les Ames (ENG) | 8 | 67 | 149 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 7 | 39 | 169 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 7 | 81 | 230 |
| BJ Watling (NZ) | 7 | 101 | 205 |
| Matt Prior (ENG) | 7 | 123 | 131* |
| Quinton de Kock (SA) | 6 | 87 | 141* |
| Kamran Akmal (PAK) | 6 | 92 | 158* |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 6 | 104 | 219* |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 6 | 144 | 224 |
| Alec Stewart (ENG) | 6 | 145 | 173 |
Key Stats
Adam Gilchrist is way ahead of others with 17 Test centuries. The Australian legend is also the leading run-scorer in Test cricket among any wicketkeeper.
AB de Villiers’ record of 7 centuries in the 39 innings he played as a wicketkeeper is the best in terms of frequency of centuries while doing so. Find out ABD’s five killer shots that insanely dominating as a cricketer.
Mushfiqur Rahim is the only wicketkeeper to score two double centuries in Test cricket.
The record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in Test cricket belongs to Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower, who was unbeaten at 232 against India in Nagpur in 2000.
Pakistani wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, who played during 1967-1984 had been dismissed for duck 19 times – the most by any wicketkeeper in Test history.
Related: Which player has dismissed for duck in both innings of a Test match, most times?
