IPL 2019: 3 Reasons why Dale Steyn can change RCB's fate

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) roped in South African legend Dale Steyn as a replacement for the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile. The Aussie pacer went straight to Australia from the UAE, whilst his other teammates like Marcus Stoinis and Jason Behrendorff came to India to play the IPL.

Speculations were made that he is protecting himself for the World Cup after suffering an injury scare. After the joining of Dale Steyn was confirmed by a rather peculiar post from RCB’s official social media handles, some prominent media houses confirmed that Coulter-Nile opted out of the IPL with a back niggle.

After losing 6 games on the trot, skipper Virat Kohli stressed on a fact that the situation is out of control and all he and the management can do is adjust the formations slightly and hope for the best. They are hoping for the new signing to bring about a change in their fortunes, but can he really do it is the question of the hour.

Well, I believe he can and here are three reasons to back my hypothesis.

1. Steyn in his best shape since the 2015 World Cup

No cricketer in recent years endured as many career-threatening injury scares as the great man himself. Yet, he fought his way out of all and looks in magnificent shape at the age of 35. His performance in the Mzansi Super League 2018 was terrific and although he bowled on grassy tracks assisting seamers, he did garner great confidence.

In the Test series against Sri Lanka, he wasn’t among the wickets quite regularly, picking just six wickets in two matches. Yet, he performed very well in his last two games for the Titans in the Momentum ODI Cup, registering figures of 3/20 and 3/36. This most certainly is the best he’s looked in recent years.