IPL Fielding Records: Buttler's 26 and the Marks in Play for 2027

On 12 May 2026, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Jos Buttler took four catches and a stumping as Sunrisers Hyderabad were bowled out for 86. Five dismissals in a single innings tied the IPL record. By the time the 2026 season ended on 31 May, Buttler had 25 catches and 26 dismissals in 17 matches, beating the season records for both. The previous best for catches was 19, and the previous best for dismissals was Rishabh Pant's 24 in 2019. Hardly anyone wrote about it.

That is how fielding records tend to go. A 265-run chase gets headlines for a week; a wicketkeeper beating the season record by six catches gets a line on a scorecard. This piece goes through the fielding and wicketkeeping record book from 2008 to 2026, using ball-by-ball Cricsheet data from all 1,243 IPL matches. It covers the marks that fell in 2026, the ones still in play when IPL 2027 starts, and the ones nobody is going to touch, including the one that has fallen furthest out of reach: the stumping.

The 2026 Season Rewrote the Gloves Record

Buttler's 26: a record broken by a wide margin

Before 2026 the season record for catches by one player was 19, shared by AB de Villiers in 2016 and Jitesh Sharma in 2025. Buttler finished 2026 with 25 for Gujarat Titans. In a single season he took more catches than he had in the three seasons before it put together (8 in 2025, 3 in 2024 and 9 in 2023). With his one stumping that made 26 dismissals, two clear of Pant's 2019 record of 24 and four clear of the 22 Quinton de Kock managed in 2020.

Part of the explanation is volume. Gujarat played 17 matches in 2026, the most possible: they reached the final and also went through Qualifier 2, where they chased down Rajasthan Royals' 214/6 on 29 May. Volume does not explain all of it, though. Pant played 16 matches in 2019 and took 18 catches. Buttler took 25 in 17. Nobody behind the stumps in IPL history has taken catches at that rate across a full season.

The five-dismissal night in Ahmedabad

Only four players have been involved in five dismissals in an IPL innings. Kumar Sangakkara did it first, with five catches for Deccan Chargers against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Uppal on 14 April 2011. Mohammad Nabi took five outfield catches for Sunrisers against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on 8 October 2021, a rare case of an outfielder matching the keepers. Daryl Mitchell took five for Chennai Super Kings against Sunrisers at Chepauk on 28 April 2024.

Buttler's night on 12 May 2026 differs in one detail: four catches and a stumping, the only one of his season. Gujarat won by 82 runs. Sunrisers have now been involved in three of the four five-dismissal innings: as the batting side in 2024 and 2026, and as Nabi's team in 2021.

Catches are rising

Buttler's season is the most extreme example of a trend that runs through the whole competition. In 2008, IPL sides took 410 catches in 58 matches, 7.07 a match. In 2026 they took 665 in 74, 8.99 a match. Both figures are IPL records: the most catches in a season and the most per match. The previous highs were 640 in 2022 and 8.83 a match in 2024.

The reason is mostly batting. A 2026 innings averaged more runs than any IPL season before it, and teams that try to hit every ball in the air hit more of them to fielders. There are more chances, and fielders now train specifically for boundary-rope relay catches, so more of those chances are taken.

Stumpings are disappearing

The opposite happened to the stumping. In 2010, IPL keepers made 36 stumpings in 60 matches. In 2026 they made 12 in 74, or 0.16 a match, the lowest rate in IPL history. Only 2020, with 10 in 60 matches, had fewer in total. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma were 2026's joint leaders with two each.

Run-outs have fallen in the same way. There were 93 in 2010 and 41 in 2026, and 2025's 37 was the lowest of any season. Batters who hit boundaries every over do not need to take risky second runs, and spinners who bowl flat and quick to stop the slog rarely draw a batter out of the crease. Fewer of the dismissals that depend on the batter making a mistake on foot are happening.

Data Deep-Dive: The Fielding Record Book, 2008–2026

Table 1 — Most dismissals by a wicketkeeper, IPL career

Catch totals include every catch, behind the stumps or in the field. Uthappa and Karthik both played many matches as specialist batters, so not all of their catches were taken with the gloves on. Dhoni was in Chennai's 2026 squad but did not play a match, so his 205 has stayed where it was since the 2025 season.

Table 2 — Most catches by a non-wicketkeeper, IPL career

"Non-wicketkeeper" here means a player with no stumping in his IPL career, which keeps every regular gloveman out of the table. Kohli's best season was 2023, with 13 catches. His 9 in 2026 were his most since then. Jadeja's single catch in 14 matches for Rajasthan in 2026 was his lowest return in a full season since 2011.

Table 3 — The single-season and single-innings marks

Riyan Parag's 17 in 2022 and Ruturaj Gaikwad's 17 in 2023 are the outfield season record. The third-best is Pollard's 15 in 2017. Parag and Gaikwad are both still in their twenties.

Table 4 — Catches and stumpings across five seasons

The trend in the table is clear: 2.3 more catches a match than in 2010, and only a third as many stumpings.

The Records in Play for IPL 2027

Likely to fall: the season catch total

Catches have been above eight a match in each of the last five seasons, so 665 is the record most likely to go in 2027. If the season keeps the 74-match format and teams keep scoring at 2026's pace, a small rise in catches per match is enough to set a new high. It would not need anyone to do anything unusual.

Possible: five in an innings

With four players tied at five, the next keeper or outfielder to get a sixth holds the record alone. It has not happened in 19 seasons, but the conditions now favour it more than ever: more catches per innings, and more catches going to the keeper off top edges against the short ball. Keepers who take catches at a high rate, such as Buttler, Dhruv Jurel (18 catches in 2026) and Jitesh Sharma (15 in 2026), are the likeliest to do it.

Within reach over time, not in one season: Dhoni's 205

Pant is 91 dismissals behind Dhoni and Samson is 96 behind. Even Buttler's record season of 26 would leave either of them needing more than three more seasons like it. Pant's best season is 24. Dhoni's mark stays in place for 2027 and probably for several seasons after that.

Kohli's lead among outfielders

Kohli does not need to chase anyone; the target is his own total. He is 16 ahead of Jadeja and 24 ahead of Rohit. Jadeja would need a season like his 13-catch 2015 or 2021 just to halve the gap, so Kohli will almost certainly enter 2028 still leading. The open question is whether he reaches 150, which at his recent rate of roughly nine a season would take until 2029.

Unlikely to fall: Buttler's 26 and Karthik's 182

Buttler's season record came with ideal conditions: the maximum number of matches, a strong attack bowling at batters who swung at everything, and a keeper in good form. Someone repeating that in 2027 is possible but unlikely. Karthik's 182 career dismissals are even safer from the current generation. Pant, the closest active keeper, needs 68 more.

Legacy Impact: What This Means for IPL 2027

The record book has quietly changed what a wicketkeeper's job is. In 2010 IPL keepers stumped a batter roughly every second match, and footwork against spin was what separated the good ones. In 2026 there were 12 stumpings in the whole season, and what mattered was taking a top edge running back towards fine leg. Buttler's 25 catches and one stumping show the change in a single season.

This matters for auctions and selection. Franchises building squads for 2027 have good reason to value a keeper's catching against pace and his range as much as his work standing up to spinners, because 2026's numbers show where the dismissals now come from. It also explains why keepers who bat in the top order — Buttler, Samson, Pant, Jurel — have taken over the role from the specialist glovemen of the Saha era.

CricMind's Oracle models a match from ratings, form and venue rather than from fielding. That is a gap the fielding numbers point to: a side whose fielders take three more catches a season than average turns some of the Oracle's close calls the other way. Every locked call and its result are published on the predictions hub, so readers can check where the model gets close games wrong.

For the 2027 season, the fielding records worth watching are not the familiar ones. Watch the season catch total, the five-in-an-innings tie and the stumping count, which may drop below 12. That last one would be a record nobody sets on purpose.

Three Takeaways

• Buttler's 2026 season is the best by a wicketkeeper in IPL history. He took 25 catches and made 26 dismissals in 17 matches for Gujarat Titans. The previous records were 19 catches and 24 dismissals, and it was one of the least-noticed records of the season.
• Catches are rising and stumpings are falling. IPL 2026 set records for total catches (665) and catches per match (8.99), and also for the fewest stumpings per match (0.16). Both trends follow from batters hitting in the air more often.
• The career marks are safe for 2027. Dhoni's 205 dismissals and Karthik's 182 are years away from being caught by any active keeper. Kohli's outfield record of 126 grows every season he plays, and Jadeja, 16 behind, is not closing the gap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has the most dismissals as a wicketkeeper in IPL history?

MS Dhoni has 205 dismissals (158 catches and 47 stumpings) in 277 IPL matches from 2008 to 2025. Dinesh Karthik is second with 182, and Rishabh Pant leads the active keepers with 114.

What is the record for most catches in an IPL season?

Jos Buttler set it in 2026 with 25 catches for Gujarat Titans, plus a stumping, for a season record of 26 dismissals. The previous best was 19 catches, shared by AB de Villiers (2016) and Jitesh Sharma (2025).

Who has taken the most catches in the IPL as a fielder?

Virat Kohli has 126 catches in 282 matches, the most by any player who has never kept wicket in the IPL. Ravindra Jadeja has 110, Suresh Raina 109 and Kieron Pollard 103.

Who has the most dismissals in a single IPL innings?

Four players share the record of five: Kumar Sangakkara (14 April 2011), Mohammad Nabi (8 October 2021), Daryl Mitchell (28 April 2024) and Jos Buttler (12 May 2026). Buttler is the only one of the four whose five included a stumping.

Who holds the record for most stumpings in the IPL?

MS Dhoni with 47 stumpings, followed by Dinesh Karthik (37) and Robin Uthappa (32). Among active keepers Rishabh Pant has 24 and Sanju Samson 19. The whole of IPL 2026 produced only 12.

Why are there fewer stumpings in the IPL now?

Batters in 2026 try to clear the rope rather than use their feet to get under the ball, and spinners bowl faster and flatter to stop them. That leaves the keeper fewer chances to stump a batter out of his crease. Stumpings have fallen from 36 in 2010 to 12 in 2026, even though the season now has 74 matches instead of 60.

Which IPL fielding record is most likely to fall in 2027?

The total number of catches in a season. IPL 2026's 665 beat the previous best by 25, and catches have been above eight a match in each of the last five seasons. If 2027 has 74 matches and teams score as they did in 2026, a new record is likely.

Figures: Cricsheet IPL ball-by-ball data, 1,243 matches from 18 April 2008 to the 2026 final on 31 May 2026. Catches exclude those taken by substitute fielders; super overs are excluded.