Dale Steyn Regrets Not Focusing On His Batting Enough As He Could've Gone For More Money In IPL
Published - 03 Jul 2021, 09:24 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:48 AM
While South Africa great Dale Steyn might be the greatest fast bowler of this generation, he still has a regret. When on form and steaming in, Dale Steyn is one of the most attractive cricketers to watch. But the veteran seamer, who is yet to reach his full potential in the Indian Premier League (IPL) regrets not focusing on his batting.
Dale Steyn is arguably one of the best bowlers to step foot in the 22-yard pitch and his numbers suggest so. The 38-year old’s 699 wickets are the most by any South African bowler, while his 439 Test scalps are the most for South Africa. Not only was Steyn efficient in executing yorkers, in-swing, and outswing deliveries, the veteran could generate aplenty even from an unresponsive pitch.
But many might not know that Dale Steyn initially aspired to be a batsman and revealed that when he suffered a hamstring injury in his first academy, he decided to bat as bowling was not feasible. The 93-Test veteran also won the Batsman-of-the-Year award, performing at number three and joined the Titans’ team.
“When I was in my first academy year after school, I had a bad hamstring injury. So about six months, I didn’t really bowl. So, I decided I was going to bat. I batted at number three and ended up getting Batsman-of-the-Year at my academy. I mean it’s ridiculous. And then I went to Pretoria to join the Titans,” Steyn told Sanjay Manjrekar in an interaction on ESPN Cricinfo.
I quickly realized that I was a decent batter but these guys were batsmen: Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn revealed that after meeting guys like Faf Du Plessis, AB de Villiers, and Alviro Petersen, he realized they were proper batsmen, unlike him, who was decent at it. Hence, to play for the Titans, he decided to put more efforts into his bowling. But looking back, the 38-year old realizes that he could’ve fetched more money from IPL had he focused a little more on batting.
“When I got there, I met Faf (du Plessis), AB (de Villiers). Then I started to rub shoulders with Alviro Pietersen. I quickly realized that I was a decent batter but these guys were batsmen. And, I thought if I am even going to play for South Africa or for Titans, I need to focus primarily on my bowling. I little bit regret it right now because I think I could have averaged closer to 20 and who knows gone for more money in the IPL if I was a better all-rounder like Chris Morris,” he added.
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Sanjay Manjrekar
