Fielding standards have certainly gone up in the last decade or so. But even before that, players put their bodies on the line, taking some spectacular catches.
India, too, have had some of the best fielders who gave their 100 per cent on the field.
So here’s a look at the Indian fielders with the most catches in all formats combined.
Most Catches by Indian Fielders in All Formats
| Player | Mat | Inns | Catches as Fielder | Catches as WK | Max in One Inns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 565 | 674 | 345 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Rahul Dravid | 504 | 637 | 333 | 72 | 4 (4ct 0st) |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 433 | 509 | 261 | 0 | 5 (5ct 0st) |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 664 | 823 | 256 | 0 | 4 (4ct 0st) |
| Rohit Sharma | 517 | 579 | 245 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Virender Sehwag | 363 | 444 | 182 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| VVS Laxman | 220 | 333 | 174 | 0 | 4 (4ct 0st) |
| Sourav Ganguly | 421 | 514 | 170 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Suresh Raina | 322 | 334 | 167 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 195 | 270 | 166 | 0 | 5 (5ct 0st) |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 377 | 461 | 158 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Anil Kumble | 401 | 508 | 145 | 0 | 2 (2ct 0st) |
| Yuvraj Singh | 399 | 428 | 136 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Kapil Dev | 356 | 452 | 135 | 0 | 3 (3ct 0st) |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 269 | 297 | 130 | 0 | 4 (4ct 0st) |
Key Insights on Catching Records by Indian Fielders in International Cricket
Elite Indian Catchers Across Formats
Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid are the only two Indian fielders to take more than 300 catches in international cricket.
Kohli is among the top five fielders with the most catches across all formats combined.
Eknath Solkar has the best catches-per-innings ratio among Indian fielders across formats. He achieved a ratio of 0.964 while taking 55 catches in 57 innings.
MS Dhoni has grabbed the most catches as a wicketkeeper for India in all formats. He pouched 631 catches in 605 innings. This is the third-most catches by a wicketkeeper for a team in all formats.
Venue-specific and Opponent-wise Catching Record by Indian Fielders
Kohli, Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar are the four Indian fielders to take 100-plus catches at home in all formats.
Kohli, Dravid, Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma are the four Indian fielders to grab 100-plus catches in away games in all formats combined.
Kohli has pouched 50-plus catches against two opponents – Australia and England – across formats.
Dravid (vs Australia), Azharuddin (vs Pakistan) and Tendulkar (vs Australia) are the other Indian fielders with 50-plus catches against an opponent in international cricket.
Calendar Year and Format-specific Fielding Feats for India
Azharuddin has taken the most catches as an Indian fielder in a calendar year across all formats combined. He plucked 39 catches in 55 innings in 1997.
Azharuddin (30 in 1994 & 31 in 1998), Dravid (30 in 1999 & 35 in 2006) and Kohli (31 in 2011 & 33 in 2019) have taken 30 or more catches in multiple years in all formats.
Dravid took 209 of his 333 catches in Test cricket, the most by an Indian fielder and the third-most by any fielder in this format.
Kohli and Azharuddin are the two Indian fielders with more than 150 catches in ODI cricket. Kohli has, in fact, the second-most catches in ODIs, trailing Mahela Jayawardene (218).
In T20Is, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Kohli and Tilak Varma have pouched more than 50 catches.
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