'Mid life crisis surely' - Fans savage Dale Steyn for saying playing in other leagues more rewarding than IPL

South African bowler Dale Steyn is facing the heat on social media after his recent comment on Indian Premier League (IPL). The 37-year old is currently in Pakistan, plying his trade for Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL). Steyn is playing in Pakistan’s premier T20 tournament for the very first time.

And the veteran pacer has caused an outrage on social media platforms by saying that playing in the IPL is less rewarding than other franchise leagues around the world including the PSL. Earlier this year, Steyn pulled out of IPL 2021 after playing in the league for more than a decade. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions in the tournament.

Steyn had played for RCB in the last edition of the IPL but had a forgettable campaign. He had played just three games and had managed to pick up only 1 wicket. Overall, Steyn played 95 games in the IPL and picked up 97 wickets.

Fans slam Dale Steyn:

Explaining his remark about IPL, Dale Steyn said there is too much emphasis on money in the IPL and that “cricket gets forgotten” as a result. Steyn opined that in the presence of big squads, big names and huge money involved in the IPL, cricket takes the back seat. The legendary pacer further claimed that the price of players in auction remain the main topic in IPL.

“I found that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” Dale Steyn was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

“When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League, for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket. I have only been here for a couple of days and I have had people in and out of my room, just wanting to know about where I have played and how I went about it. Whereas, when I go to something like the IPL that gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money did you go for in this IPL?” he added.

Unsurprisingly, his comment has not gone down well with the fans and they did not take long to slam him. Soon after the comments appeared on the internet, the fans took to social media platforms to take shots at Steyn.

Here are some of the reactions: