CWC 2019: Top 3 wicket-keepers to watch out for

The mega cricketing event - ICC Cricket World Cup is at the doorstep once again. The event will be hosted by England & Wales from 30 May to 14 July. From Lord's to the Rose Bowl, we will witness fierce matches being played out between the best players in the world.

The teams have started out the preparations for the tournament. The squads have been announced and the boards are now busy preparing the players. The warmup matches will take place between May 24 and 28. Each team is scheduled to appear in two games to suit with the English conditions.

All eyes will be on current champions Australia, coming to England with dreams of defending the title. India will be another title contender at the twelfth edition of the World Cup.

The World Cup will be a platform where individual performances will have a big role to do. Both with bat and ball, there have to be match-winners for any team to win the championship. Talking of individual contributions, wicket-keepers will play a vital role in the field. With the bat and later behind the stumps, they will have to be on point.

Here, we take a look at three wicket-keepers to watch out for in the upcoming World Cup.

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#3 Jos Buttler (England)

Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler has been offering England a pair of safe hands behind the stumps for a while now. The 28-year old will be the hosts' first-choice wicket-keeper at the World Cup. Buttler has played 127 ODIs for England and scored 3387 runs at a strike rate of 118.

He has been in tremendous form recently - both for England in ODIs and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. The keeper-batsman had a 150-run innings against West Indies in February this year. For RR, Buttler has scored 311 runs from 9 games at a strike rate of over 150. With the gloves on, he has a total of 183 dismissals in the national colours. In IPL the tally extends to 26 dismissals in 4 seasons.

The player will become even dangerous when the game shifts to his home soil. In the familiar pitches of England, Buttler should be a batsman to look out for. The solid performance at the middle of the batting order and the quick finishes when needed makes him a keeper to watch out for.

#2 Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

Quinton de Kock

The quick deliveries from the South African pacers will be collected in the safe hands of Quinton de Kock. The left-handed batsman will open the innings with the bat for South Africa in the upcoming World Cup.

De Kock has played 106 ODIs for South Africa and scored 4602 runs at an average of 45. He has completed 157 dismissals in the same format of the game. The 26-year old has been a huge success opening the batting along with Hashim Amla. That partnership will be one the opponents will fear. In IPL, he represents Mumbai Indians and has 393 runs from 12 matches this edition.

He has had a good year with the bat so far. He has scored 469 runs from 8 matches including four half-centuries and one century. He will be hopeful of continuing the good run into the World Cup. His safe pair of hands and a trustworthy bat earns him a place on the list.

#1 MS Dhoni (India)

MS Dhoni

There would be no doubts on who will be the most watched wicket-keeper in the tournament. MS Dhoni will wear the gloves and take up the bat for India in his fourth consecutive ICC World Cup. Widely regarded as his last, the Ranchi star would be determined to leave with a positive note.

Dhoni has played 341 ODI matches for India and scored 10,500 runs. His contributions behind the stumps include 314 catches and 120 stumpings. The 37-year old will again be in charge of finishing the innings but will have additional support from players like Hardik Pandya.

The former Indian skipper has had a good year on the field so far. From 8 ODIs he has scored 327 runs including 4 fifties. The same form has been extended onto the IPL. For Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni has scored 316 runs from 11 matches.

The age-old 'Dhoni special' finishes were seen at numerous times, which would be a ray of hope for the Indian team. The legend's recent form and experience at the big stage make him the most key wicket-keeper appearing in the Cup.