Tag: Dale Steyn

  • Dale Steyn announces retirement from cricket

    Dale Steyn announces retirement from cricket

    South African fast bowler Dale Steyn announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on Tuesday.

    He told ESPNcricinfo that his decision was prompted partly by the Covid-19 pandemic, and partly because, at 38, he is looking forward to “life starting again” after 18 years of professional cricket.

    “I guess Covid-19 kind of made me see things differently, it wasn’t fun anymore. And if it’s not fun then it’s not worth doing,” Steyn said.

    “Bittersweet but grateful,” he wrote in his social media post, as he thanked his family and teammates as well as journalists, fans.

    “It’s been 20 years of training, matches, travel, wins, losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood. There are too many stories to tell. Too many faces to thank.”

    “It’s been an incredible journey together,” he added.

    Replying to the speedster, South African goat Ab Devilliars said: “Great player, great man, amazing memories! You picked a good song to sign off my bud. Legend forever!”

    Steyn, South Africa’s highest Test wicket-taker with 439 strikes in 93 games, made his professional debut in 2003 in a first-class game for Northerns. He stepped away from the longest format two years ago, to concentrate on white-ball cricket. Since then, he has not played in any ODIs and only three T20Is, though he did have plans of playing in one more T20 World Cup.

    Many cricketers and notables related with cricket wrote comments for the South African great.

  • Dale Steyn thanks Rumman Raees for birthday wish in a unique style

    Dale Steyn thanks Rumman Raees for birthday wish in a unique style

    Dale Steyn has thanked his former Islamabad United fellow cricketer Rumman Raees from Pakistan Super League ina unique style

    Raees took to Twitter and wished the speedster saying: “Number one and nothing rest, the legend. Happy Birthday Dale Steyn , stay blessed. Thanking the Pakistani bowler, Steyn shared his selfie with a framed photo with Raees when he had a fanboy moment with him and when Steyn used to played for Islamabad.

    It was a wholesome moment when Steyn gave Raees his jersey of IU and Raees gave him a framed picture of the two when he shared his fanboy moment with the South African pacer.

    Hassan Ali also wished his “favourite” bowler, appreciating him and calling him an inspiration.

  • Dale Steyn unhappy with South Africa’s T20I squad against Pakistan

    Dale Steyn unhappy with South Africa’s T20I squad against Pakistan

    Dale Steyn is unhappy with South Africa’s T20I squad for the home series against Pakistan next month.

    Read more – Dale Steyn says PSL is ‘more rewarding’ than IPL

    Reacting to the squad on Twitter, Steyn questioned selectors for dropping main players like Faf Du Plessis and David Miller from the squad.

    “I missed the reason why our big dogs aren’t playing the T20s against Pak?” questioned the renowned.

    It must be noted here that Pakistan and South Africa will play three T20Is. After Pakistan, South Africa has also announced their white-ball squads for the tour. The 17-member T20I and 22-member ODI squad will be led by Temba Bavuma.

    Proteas ODI squad

    Temba Bavuma (Captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Beuran Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Janneman Malan, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rassie van der Dussen, Junior Dala, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Mulder, Sisanda Magala, Kyle Verreynne, Daryn Dupavillon, Lizaad Williams

    Proteas T20 squad

    Temba Bavuma (Captain), Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Pite van Biljon, Migael Pretorius, Lizaad Williams, Wihan Lubbe.

    Pakistan Squads:

    T20I: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Asif Ali (Northern), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Mohammad Hafeez (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

    ODI: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)

    Test: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Tabish Khan (Sindh) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab)

  • VIDEO: Dale Steyn jams with Azam Khan

    VIDEO: Dale Steyn jams with Azam Khan

    South African fast bowler Dale Steyn was recently seen jamming with team fellow Azam Khan from Quetta Gladiators.

    The duo, who played for the Quetta Gladiators this season, went live on Steyn’s Instagram account during which Azam sang Coldplay’s Yellow while strumming along on his guitar.

    https://twitter.com/hassam_sajjad/status/1367555511667810304?s=20

    Fans of both the players loved the sweet bonding session, with many saying that it highlighted the other side of the PSL — the friendships and bonds forged after weeks of playing together.

    https://twitter.com/duke_dynamo/status/1367654243738542083?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Mah_noorjahan/status/1367700084247429120?s=20

    Azam’s his love for Steyn is not new.

    https://twitter.com/MAzamKhan45/status/1337316651977437190?s=20

    Steyn had recently sparked controversy after he remarked that playing in PSL and Lanka Premier League (LPL) is more rewarding that playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    “I [feel] that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” Steyn had said.

    “When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lanka Premier League (SPL), for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket. I have only been here for a couple of days and I have had people in and out of my room, just wanting to know about where I have played and how I went about it. Whereas, when I go to something like IPL that gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money did you go for in this IPL?”

    “That’s just me being brutally honest,” he added.

    However, the South African legend later issued a clarification over his comments saying that he had not intended to degrade, insult or compare any of the cricket leagues. He had received a lot of hate from Indian fans.

    “Social media and words out of context can often do that. My apologies if this has upset anyone,” Steyn had said.

  • ‘My apologies’: Dale Steyn clarifies stance on IPL controversy

    ‘My apologies’: Dale Steyn clarifies stance on IPL controversy

    Dale Steyn has issued a clarification over his comments on the Indian Premier League (IPL). The South African great, in an interview had said that “cricket kind of gets forgotten” in the money talks in IPL, adding that Lanka Premier League (LPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) focus more on cricket compared to the IPL.

    “I found that playing in those other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player,” Steyn had said while talking about his IPL experience. “I think when you go to the IPL there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on the amount of money that the players earn that somewhere along the line the cricket kind of gets forgotten. When you come to the PSL or the LPL, there’s an importance on the cricket.”

    Steyn’s comments had stirred up a storm in India with Indians incensed at the fact that he praised the PSL over the IPL.

    Following the backlash, the bowler clarified him stance on the matter saying that “IPL has been nothing short of amazing in my career”.

    Steyn said that he had not intended to degrade, insult or compare any of the cricket leagues.

    “Social media and words out of context can often do that. My apologies if this has upset anyone. Much love,” he tweeted.

    The South African pacer has had an impressive record as far as the IPL is concerned. The highest auction price for the fast bowler came in consecutive seasons in 2014 and 2015, when Sunrisers Hyderabad snapped him up for INR 9.5 crore (approx. USD 1.3 million today). He has taken 97 IPL wickets at 6.91, making him one of the most economical bowlers of the cricket league.

    Meanwhile reaction from most Indian IPL fans on Twitter was quite aggressive, with some hurling personal insults at Steyn.

    https://twitter.com/not_ritx/status/1366682769472901123?s=20

    On the other hand, Pakistani fast bowler Hassan Ali has some other remarks about the South African player. Taking to Twitter, Hassan shared a picture with Steyn, teaching him some bowling techniques. “Dale, you are my favorite. That’s it, that’s the tweet,” he wrote.

  • Dale Steyn says PSL is ‘more rewarding’ than IPL

    Dale Steyn says PSL is ‘more rewarding’ than IPL

    Former South African pacer Dale Steyn, who is playing for Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing sixth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), believes that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is less rewarding compared to other leagues in the world.

    Speaking to an online publication, Steyn said that cricket gets forgotten, amid money talks, in the IPL which is why he decided to skip the last season.

    “I wanted some time off. I found that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” said Steyn.

    “When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League (SPL), for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket. I have only been here for a couple of days and I have had people in and out of my room, just wanting to know about where I have played and how I went about it. Whereas, when I go to something like IPL that gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money did you go for in this IPL?”

    “That’s just me being brutally honest,” he added.

    “I wanted to stay away from that and really put more emphasis on playing and bringing good vibes to good cricket teams and tournaments I feel are worth it,” said the cricket star.

    Read more – Daren Sammy recalls being called ‘kalu’ by Indian cricketers during IPL

    Steyn also praised the “breeding machine” of Pakistan’s fast bowlers and called Babar Azam “a wonderful player”.

    “There is a breeding machine of fast bowlers here in Pakistan, which is great to see because the wickets are not conducive to fast bowlers,” said the South African great. “I had a chat with Shaheen [Afridi] last year – I think he broke his thumb. He was down but he was amazing. At Melbourne Stars, I had Haris Rauf with me, and I was really impressed by him. Not long after that, he played for Pakistan.”

    “Babar is a great player and it would be a great opportunity to get him out or bowl against him. But you never know, I might not get to bowl against him because it’s only four overs or he might get out for a duck. But he’s been fantastic [in] the last couple of years,” said Steyn.

    Meanwhile, Indians are not happy with Steyn’s statement and are criticising him on social media.

    https://twitter.com/jokn17611521/status/1366721056812113922?s=20

    https://twitter.com/svnvdr08/status/1366720983667597316?s=20

    https://twitter.com/karthik_jammy/status/1366654766630137868?s=20

    According to Cricinfo, Steyn’s “career trajectory has coincided with the rise of the IPL and has seen him become one of the more prized assets for any IPL franchise, and has consistently seen heavy competition for his signature. The highest auction price for the fast bowler came in consecutive seasons in 2014 and 2015, when Sunrisers Hyderabad snapped him up for INR 9.5 crore (approx. USD 1.3 million today). He has taken 97 IPL wickets at 6.91, making him, by some distance, the most economical fast bowler among players with over 50 wickets in the league.”