Former South Africa cricketer Dale Steyn (Happy Birthday Dale Steyn) is celebrating 39th birthday today.

Steyn was born in Phalaborwa on June 27, 1983, and is well known for his powerful bowling. During his impressive career he has taken 699 wickets in combined Tests, ODIs and T20Is, including 10 ten-wicket hauls and 29 five-wicket hauls.

In his cricketing career, the star bowler has set numerous records and broke numerous stump and his speedy deliveries with a bunch of swing kept him in the spotlight.

Know the ‘Steyn Gun’

Better known as “Steyn gun” have achieved many things in his career. But the frequent injuries throughout his career meant he could not achieve the kind of numbers that he could have but even then his statistics remain one of the best in the business.

He is regarded as the one of the all-time greats of the game. Steyn is not just an inspiration but also a phenomena who captured the imagination of the world with his pace, swing, and fiery attitude on the field.

The speedster has played 93 Test matches, 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is for South Africa before declaring his retirement from the international cricket.

Steyn picked 439 wickets in red-ball cricket he grabbed 196 and 64 wickets in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.

Steyn, who took 699 wickets for Proteas, is the country’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test matches. He is only behind former captain Shaun Pollock (823).

Dale Steyn – King of ICC Rankings

Apart from wickets tally, Steyn also holds the record for topping the ICC rankings for bowlers in Test cricket for the longest amount of time at 263 weeks. And this the reason we call him the King of ICC Rankings.

Between 2008 and 2014, Steyn stayed a record 2,356 days at the top of the bowler’s rankings in Test cricket.

Netizens send wishes to Dale Steyn

Good bye to test cricket

In 2019, Steyn announced his retirement from Test cricket as the South Africa’s highest wicket-taker.

Steyn in his 93 test matches took 439 wickets over the course of an illustrious 15-year career.

The seasoned pacer ranks eighth in Test history in terms of wickets taken. As a pacer, he is just behind James Anderson (575), Glenn McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519), and Stuart Broad (450).