Wicket-keeping has changed so much that it’s hard to recognise it anymore. The old ways are gone. You used to need steady hands and a few gritty runs at number seven. Now, cricket wants a game-changer.
Teams need someone who can rip apart a bowling attack and still pull off impossible catches. The debate is wide open. Fans keep asking who is the best in the world, but the answer changes every time someone pulls off a lightning-fast stumping.
The Champions Trophy changed everything this year. We saw records fall across the subcontinent. This list ignores the hype. It gives you the straight facts on the top 10 active keepers who are actually shaping the game right now. Rishabh Pant is currently the best wicketkeeper in the world, if we focus on the purest format of the game.Teams
10. Litton Das (Bangladesh)
Litton Das is still a massive talent who can be tough to watch. He has a beautiful bat swing. However, he often goes missing just when his team needs him most.
Updated Stats
Tests: 48 Matches, Average 35.2
ODIs: 94 Matches, Average 32.8
T20Is: 89 Matches, Strike Rate 131.5
Strengths:
- He plays pace with plenty of time. He pulls and hooks with a style you don’t often see from subcontinental batters.
- The Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter is world-class when keeping to spinners on dusty, turning tracks.
Cons:
- He throws his wicket away after doing the hard work. It’s usually a reckless shot that costs him.
- He loses focus during long days in the field. This leads to the occasional mistake.
9. Phil Salt (England)
Phil Salt plays with total aggression. He goes after the new ball without any fear. His keeping is finally catching up to his explosive batting. The Englishman isn’t always the first choice for the gloves in the England setup, but his 2025 season makes him impossible to ignore.
Updated Stat
ODIs: 28 Matches, Average 36.4, Strike Rate 128.2
T20Is: 35 Matches, Strike Rate 165.4
Strengths:
- He kills the powerplay. He makes opposition captains panic immediately.
- Working with Brendon McCullum has really helped his movement behind the stumps.
Cons:
- He can’t quite figure out top-tier wrist spin on slow pitches.
- Salt is a white-ball star, but we haven’t seen him do it in Test cricket yet.
8. Tom Latham (New Zealand)
Tom Latham is the calm in the middle of the storm. He is the guy New Zealand rely on. The Southpaw opens in Tests and keeps in ODIs without making a scene. He doesn’t get the big headlines, but he also doesn’t make mistakes.
Updated Stats
Tests: 85 Matches, Average 39.1
ODIs: 142 Matches, Average 35.6
Strengths:
- He is one of the best non-Asian batters at sweeping spin.
- He stays cool under pressure and helps steer the team during tough chases.
Cons:
- Latham doesn’t have the big power for modern T20s. That limits where he can play.
- Fast bouncers still cause him trouble at the start of an innings.
7. Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran is the ultimate T20 specialist. He goes wherever there is a league and hits sixes that clear the stadium. In 2025, the big Caribbean has shown he can also be smart. He has steered the West Indies through the middle overs before going crazy at the end.
Updated Stats
T20Is: 98 Matches, Strike Rate 148.6, Average 27.4
ODIs: 68 Matches, Average 38.2
Strengths:
- He hits the ball everywhere. His bat speed is incredibly fast.
- Pooran is so athletic that he pulls off run-outs most keepers wouldn’t even try.
Cons:
- He doesn’t play Test cricket. That holds him back on a list like this.
- He can get stuck if a spinner bowls wide and keeps it out of his reach.
6. Alex Carey (Australia)
Alex Carey proved a lot of people wrong in 2025. He scored a brilliant 156 against Sri Lanka in February. Carey swept everything on a pitch that was turning a mile. It was a record score for an Aussie keeper in Asia. He was rock solid in the World Test Championship final, too.
Updated Stats
Tests: 38 Matches, Average 36.7
ODIs: 88 Matches, Average 35.1
Strengths:
- His sweep shot is a weapon. It messes up the line and length of even the best spinners.
- Carey’s technique is perfect when he has to stand up to the stumps for fast bowlers.
Cons:
- When he goes through a slump in white-ball cricket, his form really drops off.
- He doesn’t always have that extra gear to finish a tight T20 game.
5. Jamie Smith (England)
Jamie Smith has finally arrived. He took over the Test spot from some big names and has lived up to the hype. The Englishman averages 43 after 18 Tests. He bats like a specialist top-order player. Smith also keeps with the softness of a veteran. He is definitely going to be a candidate for number one soon.
Updated Stats
Tests: 18 Matches, 1209 Runs, Average 43.0
ODIs: 19 Matches, Average 22.0
Strengths:
- He is great at attacking the second new ball. He punishes tired bowlers.
- Jamie has a great technique for the swinging ball in English weather.
Cons:
- He still needs to work on his white-ball game, especially rotating the strike.
- We haven’t seen how he handles a long series on the turning tracks in India.
4. Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
Mohammad Rizwan is everywhere. He spends most of the match diving around, shouting for wickets, or chasing down wild throws. The Pakistani international never seems to run out of breath. He is incredibly consistent in every format. Rizwan had another great PSL in 2025 and remains the heart of the Pakistan team.
Updated Stats
Tests: 36 Matches, Average 41.5
T20Is: 102 Matches, Average 48.2, Strike Rate 129.8
Strengths:
- He is probably the best in Pakistan at the sweep and the pull shot.
- His energy keeps the whole team going, even when the pitch is flat and boring.
Cons:
- His strike rate in ODIs sometimes slows down too much in the middle overs.
- Rizwan gets a bit carried away with DRS calls that have no chance.
3. Josh Inglis (Australia)
Josh Inglis is exactly what a modern keeper should look like. He scored a hundred on his Test debut and another one against England in the Champions Trophy. Inglis can hit the ball to any part of the ground. He is a tidy keeper who does whatever the team needs.
Updated Stats
Tests: 8 Matches, Average 45.2
ODIs: 26 Matches, Strike Rate 108.4, Average 32.1
T20Is: 28 Matches, Strike Rate 161.2
Strengths:
- He looks comfortable against both extreme pace and heavy spin.
- The Aussie is so creative in T20s that captains don’t know where to put their fielders.
Cons:
- He sometimes gets out, trying to be too flashy too early.
- He hasn’t played as many Tests as the older guys on this list.
2. Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa)
Heinrich Klaasen retired from international cricket in June 2025, but he is still the scariest batter in the world leagues. No one hits spin against the turn for six as he does. Bowlers are genuinely afraid of the Proteas wicketkeeper-batter in the IPL. For pure hitting power, he is the best.
Updated Stats
T20 (Leagues): Strike Rate 172.5, Average 38.4
Recent Achievement: He smashed a 37-ball century in the 2025 IPL.
Strengths:
- He destroys spinners. He makes them irrelevant in the middle of the game.
- Klaasen has incredibly fast hands for stumpings.
Cons:
- He is done with international cricket, which makes his legacy feel a bit short.
- Klaasen can look a bit shaky against high pace aimed at his ribs.
1. Rishabh Pant (India)
Rishabh Pant is in a league of his own. In 2025, he led his IPL team, won the Champions Trophy, and kept playing those crazy shots that shouldn’t work. Pant falls over, he hits sixes with one hand, and he wins games that India should have lost. He is clearly the best in the world.
Updated Stats
Tests: 41 Matches, Average 44.8, Strike Rate 74.2
ODIs: 45 Matches, Average 36.5
IPL 2025: 450+ Runs, Strike Rate 155.4
Strengths:
- He wins matches in all three formats. Almost nobody else does that.
- Pant never stops talking behind the stumps and pulls off catches that look impossible.
- The bigger the game, the better he plays.
Cons:
- He still plays some shots that make you wonder what he was thinking.
- Because he’s so aggressive, he can occasionally fumble a moving ball.
- Pant isn’t so successful with the white ball in international cricket
Final Take:
Wicket-keeping has definitely moved on. You still need technicians like Latham or Carey, but the game now belongs to guys like Pant and Inglis. They have set a new bar. If you want to be the best in the world now, you have to win the game with your bat just as much as with your gloves.
Who do you think takes the top spot? Are you Team Pant or Team Inglis?
