Four keepers in Daredevils’ line-up

 | c.s. kotteswaran/d. senthil natarajan

Sports, Cricket

Delhi Daredevils, in an attempt to find the right combination against Kolkata, made a record of sorts when they ended up fielding four wicket-keepers in their line-up, perhaps a first in T20 cricket!

Delhi Daredevils, in an attempt to find the right combination against Kolkata, made a record of sorts when they ended up fielding four wicket-keepers in their line-up, perhaps a first in T20 cricket!

Smarting from their one-run loss to Gujarat Lions in the previous game, the hosts made as many as four changes to the XI, that saw four ‘keepers in action. Opener Quinton de Kock — this year’s IPL centurion besides Virat Kohli and Steve Smith — was a certainty while young Sanju Samson is the team’s ever-reliable man. Rishabh Pant, who was drafted in place of the `8.5 crore buy Pawan Negi, too is adept in wicket-keeping duties, while IPL debutant Sam Billings of England completed the list.

It was in 1986 in a Test match when England had fielded four ‘keepers after an injury to their main man Bruce French. Substitute Bob Taylor, Bobby Parks and Bill Athey handled the responsibility against a New Zealand side captained by Jeremy Cooney, in a drawn game that is till date remembered for this unique statistic.

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