Mushfiqur Rahim congratulates ‘legend’ Dale Steyn for becoming Proteas’ leading Test wicket-taker

Steyn is currently playing South Africa's opening Test against Pakistan in Centurion.

Published - 27 Dec 2018, 14:07 IST | Updated - 27 Dec 2018, 14:07 IST

View : 2.5K

2 Min Read

Right-arm fast bowler Dale Steyn has undoubtedly been one of the greatest bowlers South Africa have ever produced. He has tasted a significant amount of success in all the three formats and has been a tormenting factor for the opponents. However, over the last few years, he has dealt with a few injury concerns and has been in and out of the national team, much to his disappointment.

But he didn’t throw in the towel and kept fighting back. Back in January this year, the 35-year-old developed a calf-injury and couldn’t play for the next few months. He made his comeback on the cricket pitch, representing Hampshire in England’s domestic cricket. The experienced campaigner thereafter made his international comeback in the Proteas’ away two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

Dale Steyn perches at the helm

In the series, he didn’t get to bowl much as the spinners did a chunk of the work. He could only pick up a couple of wickets and finished the series with 421 Test wickets. Most importantly, he was level with former Proteas pacer Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker. Yesterday, he had the privilege to overhaul Pollock’s tally in the ongoing Test series against Pakistan.

In the opening Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion, he found Fakhar Zaman’s outside edge and Dean Elgar took a sharp catch in the slips. After accomplishing the milestone, fellow fast bowler Kagiso Rabada lifted Steyn on his shoulders to acknowledge the veteran’s contribution to Proteas’ cricket. Even Pollock, from the commentary box, said that he deserves to be at the top.

In the meantime, Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who has been a stalwart for his nation for over a decade in all the three formats, heaped praises on Dale Steyn. He took to Twitter, uploaded Steyn’s picture and wrote, “Congratulations legend …my all time favourite bowler,”