Dale Steyn, the South African cricketer, is one of the best fast bowlers of all time. The iconic player is set to return to international cricket after being left out of the T20I series against India.
Steyn, who will return to play in an ODI series against in February, is staking a claim to be a part of the Proteas squad to be played later this year. The 36-year-old, who is also mentoring Kagiso Rabada and the other South African pacers, will return to Melbourne Renegades after the game against Melbourne Star.
He will take a brief break before the England series. Steyn was quoted as telling cricket.com.au, “I know I’ll be part of (the T20 series against England), that was the last conversation I’ve had.”
He will have for a two-week break and participate in the ODI series following that. Saying he was unsure as to how much he would feature in the ODIs, Steyn said, “I’ll be there for that and then definitely the T20s.”
According To Steyn, Rabada Needs An Experienced Person Around
Steyn added, “(Rabada) is very young – to lead the attack at 24, and the next bowlers to come in are all younger than him, I think he needs somebody there who is experienced, to look around, and he knows he’s not there only one.”
South Africans have been going through a rough patch in recent months. Their stint at the 2019 ODI World Cup was not one of their best and they also missed the services of Steyn who was out of it owing to an injury.
He is, however, looking to compensate for it in October. Steyn, in the recent Mzansi Super League, took 15 wickets at a strike rate of 15.13.
The pacer said he was beginning to enjoy cricket much more currently. He is opting to play in the ICC T20 World Cup as bowling four overs would not strain the body as the Test matches do.
The veteran cricketer said, “So I’m putting my hand up for that and then I’ll wait and see how selections go. After the MSL that we played, there were a lot of players that come out – some fantastic bowlers.”
According to Steyn, the older cricketers have it in them to turn around their national cricket team’s fortunes. He was referring to the recent forms of de Villiers and Imran Tahir in MSL.
Saying that he was not sure if they would get a nod from the selectors, Steyn said, nonetheless, they were sending a message to the selectors.
Recently, Mark Boucher, Steyn’s contemporary and the current coach of South Africa indicated that he was willing to speak to de Villiers to convince him to defer his retirement until the T20 World Cup.
