Easily two of the best fielders in Indian cricket – Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma – will be engaged in a tussle of a unique kind and would be curious to see where they finish in the catchers’ honours list at the end of the DLF-IPL season 5.
Raina, who has been a favourite of Chennai Super Kings loyalists, tops the list with 31 catches in 62 matches, while Sharma, who has played for the Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians, trails behind at 29 in 61 matches. AB de Villiers, ex-Delhi Daredevils and now with Royal Challengers, Bangalore and Jacques Kallis, ex-RCB and now with Kolkata Knight Riders, are not far behind at 24 each.
Of the 327 players who have played the four IPL editions, only 237 have played a role in the dismissal of a batsman. Herschelle Gibbs, Rudra Pratap Singh, Mahela Jayawardene have held 22 catches each. Andrew Symonds and Virat Kohli have held 21 each and Shikhar Dhawan 20.
Maximum catches in a season: A B de Villiers (DD) 13 in 15 matches (2008-09), Andrew Symonds (DC) 12 in 16 matches (2009-10), Herschelle Gibbs (DC) 11 in 14 matches (2008-09) , M. Vijay (CSK) 11 in 15 matches (2009-10), Kieron Pollard (MI) 10 in 16 matches (2010-11), Suresh Raina (CSK) 10 in 16 matches (2007-08) and Suresh Raina (CSK) 10 in 16 matches (2009-10)
Maximum catches in an innings: Jacques Kallis (4 for KKR against DC in 2010-11), Sachin Tendulkar (4 for MI against KKR in 2007-08), David Warner (4 for DD against RR in 2009-10).
