Dale Steyn's retirement: "India is crazy!" says South African speedster when reliving his time playing in India
Dale Steyn has fond memories of his assignments when playing in India. The South African speedster called time on his international career on Tuesday (August 31).
During his 16-year illustrious international career between 2004-20, Dale Steyn picked up a staggering 699 wickets from 265 matches across all three formats of the game. With 439 wickets in Test cricket, he is the highest wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format and eighth-best overall.
In an interview with SA Cricketmag, the pacer shed light on his retirement while also sharing his thoughts on the toughest players he's bowled to and his thoughts on playing cricket in India.
"Tendulkar, Ponting were amazing batters"- Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn spoke highly of former Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and decorated Australian batsman and former skipper, Ricky Ponting.
"Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting were amazing batters (and sometimes you’d just nod in appreciation). They’re aware of your skills too so they’re trying to come out of this contest between batter and bowler unscathed, trying to get away with it without getting out. They only have once chance, where I at least get six balls."
Steyn has been a regular in the Indian Premier League since 2008 and has played for well over four franchises since the inception of the tournament. He has 97 wickets from 95 matches at an average of 25.85.
Speaking about playing in India, he said:
"India is crazy! It’s the closest you’re going to be to feeling like a rock star. You’re treated like a Hollywood or Bollywood star. Cricket is just crazy there. You go to the airport and you’re bombarded, you go to practice and there’s 10 000 people watching. It’s doubtful I’ll ever have that experience in my life again with anything that I do.”
Also read: Thank you, Dale Steyn