Top 5 current wicket-keeper batsmen in Test cricket

#3 Sarfraz Ahmed (Pakistan)

Sarfraz Ahmed’s emergence has seen Pakistan find a versatile middle-order batsman

Pakistan’s search for a wicketkeeper-batsman had taken them through several talented batsmen, who somehow, could translate themselves to capable wicketkeepers, or vice versa. They had the Akmals – all three of them – in Kamran, Umar, Adnan, with a considerable amount of success, but none of them could be detrimental to the team’s long-term success.

Despite having a lean start to his Test career – his first eight innings since his debut in 2010, that came over a span of three years, had no score of 50 or more - Sarfraz changed gears and his fortunes since the advent of 2014 and started scoring runs on a consistent basis for Pakistan, thereby putting a full stop to their search for a wicketkeeper-batsman. In 2014 alone, the right-handed batsman scored three centuries and three fifties, with all of them being scored on Asian soil (the UAE and Sri Lanka).

Over past couple of years as well, the middle-order batsman has become a vital cog for Pakistan in their batting line-up and has impressed one and all with his ability to adapt to different conditions and play accordingly. He has five scores of 50 or more in Sri Lanka and during the ongoing tour of England, he was quite decent with his hat-trick of 40s down the order.

In total, the Pakistani has scored 1489 runs from 44 innings in 25 Tests with 3 hundreds and 7 fifties, at an average of 43.79. His skills behind the stumps have been immaculate as well, the example of which was shown during the England Tests, where he kept considerably well to the moving balls being bowled by Mohammad Amir and company.