"He is gonna be one of the first names" - Ex-South African pacer opens up on Pant and Karthik debate for India's T20 WC squad

The veteran wicket-keeper batsman, Dinesh Karthik, has made his dream comeback to the Indian side after a gap of almost three years. He gave a remarkable performance in the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League, which earned him his comeback to the national side.

He has also performed really well in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa, which has certainly increased his chances of getting selected in the Indian squad for the T20I World Cup. But the biggest question is that the Indian team already has Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicket-keeper in the team.

Former South African speedster, Dale Steyn, has opened up on this debate and shared his view. In a discussion on Star Sports, the former pacer said that DK has the advantage on the basis of his current form. He highlighted the form of Rishabh Pant in the ongoing series. 

He said that the 24-year-old is making some mistakes in the series against South Africa and he is not learning from them, while Karthik has grabbed the opportunities with both hands. The former pacer also added that India needs to pick a batter who is in form right now.

Steyn said, "That guy is going to win you a World Cup. If he is in a purple patch and is red hot, you pick that guy. Teams will pick on reputation but DK is in such fantastic form.  and if he continues this form he is gonna be one of the first names written down on the plane when India tour for the World Cup later this year."

The 37-year-old has shown some fantastic form in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. According to the former South African pacer, DK has the ability to assess the condition and the plan of the bowler. 

Steyn also reckons that 
Karthik has the ability to find a boundary from the very first ball, which makes him an ideal candidate for finishing the games.

The ex-pacer also highlighted that the 37-year-old has got all the shots from the book, like reverse sweep or scoop, that can be used to score runs in difficult situations and can put pressure on the bowlers. 

Steyn also lauded DK for his wicket-keeping skills and said that he has got a great mentality as a wicket-taker and he knows what a bowler is thinking, which makes him hard to bowl to for any bowler. The 37-year-old scored his maiden half-century in the fourth match in a crunch situation.

He came out to bat when India were three wickets down and scored 55 off 27 balls in his innings. He helped India reach a decent total of 169, which proved to be a match-winning score for the home team.

In the end, he was adjudged the "Man of the Match" award as well, and he became the oldest player to score a half-century for India.