Dale Steyn reveals why he decided to play PSL 2021 and not IPL 2021

South Africa’s legendary right-arm seamer Dale Steyn was one of the most dangerous fast bowlers of his time and was known for rattling the opposition batsmen with his raw pace and swing. In his glorious international career, which spanned from 2004 to 2019, Steyn represented the Proteas nation in 93 Test matches scalping a whopping 439 wickets.

Dale boasts of experiencing a remarkable stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) too while playing for teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), now-defunct Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Gujarat Lions since the inception of the T20 Championship in 2008.

However, just like many other cricketers across the globe, the growing age got the better of Dale Steyn too as though he features in various franchise leagues across the globe, he hasn’t been as effective and dangerous as before. This is also the reason behind the right-arm quick featuring in the Playing XI of just three games for RCB in IPL 2020.

Thus, ahead of the IPL 2021, scheduled to run from April 9 to May 30 in India, Steyn made the decision of pulling out from the Indian league and instead decided on featuring in other T20 leagues across the globe. The same didn’t go well with many Indian fans as they slammed the speedster for choosing PSL over IPL.

On March 19, Dale conducted a Question and Answer session on Twitter where again some Indian fans asked for clarification from Steyn for skipping IPL. To this, another cricket enthusiast replied that the main reason behind Dale sidelining IPL is that the chances of him getting picked during the auctions were slim considering he is heading towards the end of his cricket career.

Dale Steyn opens up on choosing PSL over IPL

Instead of getting offended, the 37-year-old took the comment sportingly and reckoned that the reason behind him skipping IPL  is 100% correct as he knows that the chances of him making it to the Playing XI are almost negligible.  

“Bottom line is Steyn is at the end of his career. He was unlikely to be selected anyway. Hence his comments,” a fan commented.

“100% truth. And if I was selected might not even play, hence playing smaller leagues and guaranteed a spot in the starting 11 seems a more obvious choice for me at the point of my career, doesn’t mean IPL isn’t still the biggest and most obvious goal for all other cricketers,” Dale Steyn replied.

100% truth. And if I was selected might not even play, hence playing smaller leagues and guaranteed a spot in the starting 11 seems a more obvious choice for me at my point of my career, doesn’t mean IPL isn’t still the biggest and most obvious goal for all other cricketers.

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) March 19, 2021