Types of helmets used in IPL: Why Dinesh Karthik wears a baseball-type helmet

However, what caught everyone's attention in Dinesh Karthik was his peculiar batting helmet. Karthik's helmet during his batting is quite different from all other batters. DK's helmet has made several people curious and has been a hot topic recently as it looks similar to a baseball helmet. Let us know about this unique helmet and why the wicket-keeper batsman prefers it over a typical helmet.

A 'Baseball' type of helmet!

Dinesh Karthik has been keeping the wickets for a long time; however, he used a traditional helmet earlier. While there might be many possibilities why Karthik chooses this helmet, unlike other cricketers, there is no such particular reason for this unique helmet. Dinesh Karthik's helmet is no ordinary cricket helmet, but it somewhat resembles the helmets used in American Football and Baseball.

 

Why does DK prefer this unique helmet over a normal one?

The helmet's lightweight could be one technical reason as it allows more comfort than a regular one. These helmets have no cap, allowing any batter to move his head freely, giving more comfort while batting. A few years ago, the RCB wicket-keeper batsman said that he does not like to wear any helmet while wicket-keeping as he cannot move his head freely wearing it. Therefore, Karthik uses this unique helmet specially built for keeping and has eventually been used while batting. These helmets are made explicitly for Dinesh Karthik by a sports company. As the choice of the equipment comes down to the player's personal preference, DK chooses this unique helmet. This is also not the first time Dinesh Karthik has used such a helmet. There have been instances before where even his wicket-keeping helmet has been different from fellow keepers. On multiple occasions in both international cricket and IPL, Karthik has been seen wearing a baseball-typeface protector guard, which is permitted by the rules of cricket.

 

Lightweight helmets; are a risky choice!

However, with advantages also come disadvantages! A significant burden of this lightweight helmet is its safety. Due to the absence of a cap, if someone gets hit in his head wearing this, he might get seriously injured or hurt. However, this is a risk that Dinesh Karthik is ready to take wearing a non-conventional helmet.

Karthik- is not the first to use this!

Many might wonder that Karthik is the only player to use such a baseball helmet. However, let me tell you that several players have used such unconventional helmets rather than normal ones! A very famous name that has used this helmet is Kumar Sangakkara. The Sri Lankan former wicketkeeper-batsman was also known for his unique helmet, similar to Dinesh Karthik. He represented franchises such as KXIP, DC (Deccan Chargers) and SRH in the IPL.

 In recent times, a player that has been seen with such headgear is Rahul Tripathi. Although he does not keep the wickets, he still prefers the lightweight helmet while batting. Other international cricket names that used this special helmet are the former England batters, James Taylor and Michael Carberry. So, it's not very rare in international cricket to use such peculiar helmets, which the Cricket Council permits.