Top 3 Indian wicket-keepers with the lowest batting average in ODI cricket

Cricket in India gained massive popularity after the Men in Blue achieved their maiden world cup victory in the 1983 edition of the coveted championship. India slowly emerged as a nation where the game was adopted as a religion with over a billion followers. The transition from the underdogs to one of the strongest cricket teams took a couple of decades, the tenure not only witnessed some phenomenal cricketing talents but also showcased some areas of concern which remain perpetual with the Indian limited overs side.

Team India was deprived of a genuine wicket keeping batsman until Mahendra Singh Dhoni came into the international arena and provided a permanent solution to one of the major problems in the history of Indian cricket.

India’s worries with its wicket-keeping batsmen were evident from the fact that team India had tried as many as 14 wicketkeepers from the period of 1975 to 2004. Though most of them were neat with their glove-work but lacked the technique with the bat at the highest level.

Here are three Indian wicket keeping batsmen who made it to the India team but failed to impress in the limited overs format, accumulating runs at a below-par average throughout their careers.

Note: A minimum of 10 innings has been taken into account.

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# 3 Kiran More

Kiran More Pic Credits: Espncricinfo.com

Kiran More made his international ODI debut on the back of a few phenomenal performances in the domestic circuit in the year 1984. Though he did not bat in his debut game, his wicket-keeping skills grabbed eyeballs. He made his Test debut for India in 1986 against a strong English side in their backyard. He made a decent 25 in the first innings of the game and also contributed with 5 catches to his name.

However, as an ODI batsman, he could never establish himself as he accumulated merely 563 runs at a poor average of 13.09 in the 94 games he played for India.

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# 2 Vijay Yadav

Vijay Yadav of India and Smith of England

Vijay Yadav grabbed immediate attention from the Indian selectors for his prolific performance for Haryana with the gloves in the early 1990s. He shot into prominence when he scored an impressive fiery 30 in his Test debut against Zimbabwe in 1993, including two mammoth sixes.

His ability to score quickly gave an impression that he could be a success for India in the shorter format of the game. On a contrary though, he failed to perform with the bat in the limited overs format. Yadav scored merely 118 runs in his one-day career at an average of 11.80.

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#1 Sadanand Viswanath

Sadanand Viswanath Pic Credits: The Hindu

Sadanand Viswanath made his debut for the Indian limited overs side in the year 1985 against England in Bengaluru. He was seen as the immediate successor of Syed Kirmani because of his impressive performances in the Ranji Trophy, as a wicket-keeper batsman.

Vishwanath played only a handful of One-day games for India and could not cement his place in the side due to a string of low scores with the bat. He managed to gather only 72 runs at an awful average of 9.00 during his ODI career, which lasted for 22 matches.