Wicket-keeping needs specific skillsets, and hence, players who don the gloves are usually not tasked with requirements in other departments, at least in the past. Of course, in recent decades, wicket-keepers should necessarily be able to contribute heavily with the bat. Interestingly, there have been a few examples of wicket-keepers who once bowled in a competitive game.
The job of a wicket-keeper is in direct relation to a bowler. Hence, a glove-man taking the ball in his hand qualifies as a rare instance. In this article, we take a look at five popular wicket-keepers who once bowled in a competitive game and also took a wicket.
1. MS Dhoni – 1 ODI Wicket in 6 Overs
MS Dhoni is arguably one of the best wicket-keepers that the sport has seen. At an age where most keepers get troubled with reflexes, MSD is still pulling off those complicated stumpings with ease. Not to mention, the Ranchi lad was a terrific batsman too.
MSD has also tried his hand with the ball. In the 2009 edition of the Champions Trophy, Dhoni even earned a wicket when he clean bowled West Indies’ Travis Dowlin for 14. In that game, MSD had given the gloves to Dinesh Karthik. He also bowled in India’s Tour of England in 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. In fact, he got Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene out in the tournaments but both batsmen escaped by using the DRS. He has also bowled 16 overs in Test Cricket.
2. Adam Gilchrist – 1 IPL Wicket in 0.1 Overs
The player with the second most number of dismissals in Test career, Adam Gilchrist is the template wicket-keeper for the budding cricketers of this era. However, Gilly has once bowled and has also got a wicket to his name.
It was IPL 2013, and Gilchrist had said that it would be his final IPL game. In that game, Mumbai needed 51 runs off the final over and Gilchrist came to bowl right-arm off-break to Harbhajan Singh. Praveen Kumar had replaced Gilly behind the stumps. Sensing a chance, Bhajji took on the Aussie only to give an easy catch to Gurkeerat Mann at the ropes. Gilchrist entered the record books for an average of 0 and a strike rate of 1. He also broke into the ‘Gagnam Style’ dance as part of the celebrations.
3. Mark Boucher – 1 Test Wicket in 1.2 Overs
With 999 international dismissals to his name, Mark Boucher was one of the finest wicket-keepers in world cricket. However, he also has a Test wicket to his name, and hence, you could say that he had a total of 1000 victims in international cricket.
In the Test match against West Indies in St John’s in 2005, Boucher picked up the wicket of Dwayne Bravo, who had scored a century. It was Ashwell Prince who took the catch and helped Boucher get his wicket. Also, AB de Villiers, another wicket-keeper who has bowled, also collected two wickets in this particular inning.
4. Tatenda Taibu – 1 Test Wicket in 8 Overs and 2 ODI Wickets in 14 Overs
The second youngest Test captain and the fourth-youngest ODI captain ever, Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu was also a fine wicket-keeper. However, the little man also has bowled several times and even has many wickets to his name.
In fact, Taibu is the only WK to complete his quota of 10 overs in an ODI game. He finished with impressive figures of 2 for 42 in that game. His victims were Sri Lanka’s Thilina Kandamby and Upul Chandana. The player, who retired at the age of 28, has a total of 25 FC wickets and 14 List A scalps.
5. Syed Kirmani – 1 Test Wicket In 3.1 Overs
Syed Kirmani was a legendary wicket-keeper for the Indian Team. He was part of the 1983 squad that won the World Cup in England. Interestingly, Syed is one of the wicket-keepers who once bowled and also took a wicket.
In one of the test matches against Pakistan, sensing that the game was heading for an inevitable draw, many Indian cricketers in that XI got a chance to shine with the ball. Sunil Gavaskar, who had not bowled previously, also took the cherry in that game. Kirmani, though, also got the wicket of Azeem Hafeez, the Pakistan opener, for 18 runs.
