'I asked if he had any goals, Purple Cap he said' - Dale Steyn reveals conversation with Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Former South African speedster Dale Steyn has revealed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar had set the goal of winning the Purple Cap in IPL 2022. Interestingly, Bhuvneshwar has already won the Purple Cap twice.

The 32-year-old has struggled with injuries and fitness in the last few years and even lost his place in the Test and ODI teams. However, he had a good season in 2022 with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.34. Steyn thinks that Bhuvneshwar has got his spark back and should be in Team India for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The pacer was one of the few positives for India in the first two T20Is against South Africa and picked four wickets for 13 runs in the second T20I match. Many are predicting that the experienced pacer will be in India’s starting eleven for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.

Bhuvneshwar took five wickets from the first two T20I matches against South Africa and reached the 63 T20I-wicket mark. He is now only six wickets behind India’s leading wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20I format and could become the highest wicket-taking pacer for India with three matches remaining in the home series.

He certainly understands his game: Dale Steyn

“I asked him [Bhuvneshwar] if he had got any goals for the IPL and he secretly said to me, ‘I would like to win the Purple Cap again.’ And I was like this is fantastic. It just shows that this guy is determined and he wants to prove, not just to India but to the world, that he is still pretty much a force to reckon with,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo.

“I think that kind of extends to what could potentially happen for him later on this year. I mean he could really get a nod and go to the World Cup. He certainly understands his game, he knows when to train, he is confident in his skill and he has got these little goals that he didn’t really have to tell anybody but he would mention it every now and then that I could hear,” he added.