T20 World Cup 2022: Is Dinesh Karthik a sure-shot starter for India?

Father time is cruel and waits for no man, and the man affectionately nicknamed DK by fans and teammates was on the wrong side of 30. 

As such, it was understandable why he would occasionally take on commentary duty. But few could have predicted the turnaround he would experience in 2022. 

Picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, DK experienced a slight career renaissance. 

Playing purely as a finisher, he excelled as his quickfire knocks became key to RCB’s success in making the playoffs in the 2022 season. 

It also led to an unlikely recall to the Indian cricket team for the five-match series against South Africa right after the IPL. 

It was unexpected but deserved – not only was his form good at the time, but India needed an experienced backup to Rishabh Pant. 

However, fate had even more extraordinary twists for the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman. 

He played regularly for India, though it is often worth noting that he played alongside Pant rather than replacing him. But Pant’s poor form and DK doing well as a finisher for the Indian team led to a change of plans. 

No longer was DK the experienced reserve option – he was suddenly India’s first-choice wicketkeeper, evidenced by the fact that when India only went in with one pure keeper, he was often referred to Pant. 

The loss of Ravindra Jadeja due to the injury, and with India’s need for more left-handers in the middle order and the team’s rotation policy, meant Pant had to play. 

But he has flattered to deceive, whereas DK has done the exact opposite – make the most of whatever time he’s gotten out in the middle order. 

All of this leads to the inevitable question of who will be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper going into the World Cup. Every sign at this point says it will be DK. 

There’s no doubting Pant’s ability, but his recent T20 form has been poor. To make things worse, he’s more of a middle-order batter in white-ball cricket; India has those in abundance right now, even if none of them is left-handed. 

Even though Pant has sporadically been used as an opener in the format, at the moment it seems purely like an experiment. 

With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as designated openers and Virat Kohli as a backup option, it seems unlikely that Pant will be drafted in as an opener. 

On the other hand, DK fills a particular need that the Indian team has – that of a lower-order power hitter and someone who can finish off an innings or a game. 

To make things better, his form has been good as of late. And yes, there is an argument that maybe DK isn’t quite as good behind the stumps as Pant, which is down more to age than ability. 

But that is a minor quibble – and, as things stand, all signs point to Pant being relegated to the bench, with DK being the leading man behind the stumps.