Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has called Syed Kirmani the “number one wicketkeeper in the world.” He praised Kirmani for his big role in India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup win.
Azharuddin said Kirmani kept wickets wonderfully well, even when India played with four spinners. He also remembered Kirmani’s important catches and his batting, like the unbeaten 24 runs in the famous match against Zimbabwe where Kapil Dev scored 175 runs.
Syed Kirmani played for India from 1976 to 1986. He took part in 88 Test matches and 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs). In Tests, he scored 2,759 runs with an average of 27.04, which included two centuries and 12 half-centuries.
As a wicketkeeper, he took 160 catches and made 38 stumpings. In ODIs, he scored 373 runs with an average of 20.72, and as wicketkeeper, he took 27 catches and did 9 stumpings.
In the 1983 World Cup, Kirmani made 14 dismissals 12 catches and 2 stumpings. In the tournament, only West Indies wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon performed better, placing him second overall. He was quick, agile, and very safe behind the stumps, especially against spin bowlers.
In Indian cricket history, he is fourth on the list of wicketkeepers with the most dismissals, after MS Dhoni, Nayan Mongia, and Rishabh Pant.
Kirmani’s career had ups and downs. He was dropped from the team at times, like during the 1979 World Cup, but always made strong comebacks. One highlight was his unbeaten century as a nightwatchman against Australia in 1979. He also set a rare record by not conceding a single bye in three straight Test matches against England in 1981-82.
Recently, Kirmani’s autobiography “Stumped” was launched in Telangana. At the event, Azharuddin wished him a long life and hoped the book would be successful. He also said young wicketkeepers could learn a lot from Kirmani. Azharuddin praised Hyderabad fast bowler Mohammed Siraj for being the top wicket-taker in India’s 2025 tour of England, where Siraj took 23 wickets.