The fast bowler from South Africa – Dale Steyn is one of the best in the business across formats. Steyn recently sparked a controversy among the fans with his comments that Pakistan Super League (PSL) is better than Indian Premier League (IPL).
Steyn, who played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2020, pulled out of this year’s IPL and instead played in PSL for Quetta Gladiators. During a interactive session on Twitter, Dale Steyn opined that PSL is “more rewarding” for a player while in IPL, there is a greater emphasis on the amount of money.
While a lot of flak came his way, the veteran fast bowler maintained that he never intended to insult the illustrious Indian league. Although Dale Steyn apologized for his comments, his sensational interview indicated that he’s not keen to play in IPL anymore. The fast bowler skipper the 14th edition of the tournament which added more fuel to the fire.
I want to come back to IPL – Dale Steyn
However, Dale Steyn has clarified that he still has one more IPL left in him and is keen to comeback next season. He even threw light on his decision to skip 2021 season.
“I think when you’re not playing for your country you quickly get forgotten. It was a concern of mine when I was still playing for South Africa. I had a chat with my agent. He was like, ‘Maybe you should retire.’ I’m like, ‘I’m worried that if I retire I might not get taken seriously as a cricketer to go to the IPL anymore,” Steyn was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“So I’ve got to go to leagues where I know there’s a 99% chance that I’m going to play every single game. If I went to the IPL this year I probably wouldn’t have played, just like I didn’t play (much) last year,” he added.
Throwing light on his chances of playing in the IPL once again, the 37-year-old Dale Steyn stated that if he does well in other leagues then a franchise might show interest in him. However, the talismanic pacer also made it clear that he would want to be a regular member of the starting XI rather than warming the benches.
“If I want to win the purple cap I’ve got to play every game. There could be a chance next year, but for this year I felt that if I wanted to be taken more seriously I’ve got to play more cricket. But with the pandemic it makes it really difficult. I don’t want to spend most of my time sitting in quarantine. So you’ve got to weigh it up. But maybe there’s one more IPL for me. Let’s see,” asserted Dale Steyn.
