Dale Steyn, the legendary South African speed bowler, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 31, 2021. Steyn is regarded as one of the best speed bowlers in South African cricket history, having taken 699 wickets in international matches.
Steyn has finally spoken more about his childhood and career. Even if he was an Englishman, the pacer, who grew up in the Phalaborwa a town African, claimed he was a little scared of everything he did. Steyn also stated that he became more conscious of the Muslim population after joining the South African National Squad.
Steyn also said that when he 1st visited Sri Lanka, he was able to hear the call to prayer. Steyn also remembered asking the batter if he would stop while the bowler was heading into a bowl if the calling for prayer sounded at that moment when he was young.
I genuinely didn’t know where I come from: Dale Steyn
“I grew up in this very Afrikaans of the town of Phalaborwa and being English there – my whole family comes from Zimbabwe – I was already a little bit timid and scared of everything I did. It was difficult. When you join the South African team my awareness grew of what the Muslim community does and how things happen. I had no idea,” he says.
“I remember being in Sri Lanka for the first time and you can hear the Muslim call to prayer. I asked a silly question because I genuinely didn’t know where I come from. I asked what if I’m running into bowl and this happens, is the batter going to stop?” said Steyn in an interview.
Steyn went on to say that he was insulted because of his questioning, but that he learned a lot from it. He went on to say that when players like Hashim Amla approached the South African team, they patiently imparted their experience with him.
“I got a fair bit of abuse but it was a great learning experience. When you join the team and you have guys like Hashim Amla, they were a lot more patient and shared their knowledge and I was able to tell them where I came from and my experiences,” said Steyn.
It was a wonderful time, we just fed off each other: Steyn
Steyn stated that he had spent his whole life career alongside players like Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, and Heino Kuhn and that he has learned a lot from them. Steyn finished by saying that there was no screenplay when it came to competing for South Africa and that he and his teammates had respect and understanding for each other.
“We were just young kids who were 20 years old, we loved the same things and we played our whole careers together – me, Hashim, Faf, AB, Heino Kuhn … I can go through a list of names. It was a wonderful time, we just fed off each other and learned from each other”.
“Nothing needed to be scripted when it came to the Protea Fire. That was obviously a great campaign to get the country behind the team but we had already gelled and we were friends playing all three formats with each other. The respect was mutual,” concluded Dale Steyn.
