'Maybe There’s One More IPL For Me' : Dale Steyn Aiming To Play The Tournament Next Year

South African speedster Dale Steyn was amongst the players to pull out of IPL 2021 this year, citing personal reasons. But Dale Steyn, who has not enjoyed a highly fulfilling IPL career, has expressed his wish to play another season and believes that there is one more season in him. The veteran was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020 and three matches before being dropped as he took only one wicket at 133.

Earlier this year, Dale Steyn sparked controversy by placing Pakistan Super League (PSL) over Indian Premier League (IPL) in terms of being more rewarding. The 37-year old thought so since the actual sport gets lost in the IPL due to the glamour and money. Steyn revealed when playing in PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League; he saw more emphasis on cricket. He faced plenty of flak for his comments and the Proteas speedster defended himself, stating that IPL has been nothing short of amazing in his career as well as other players.

The Pretoria-born cricketer conceded that he never meant to degrade any cricketing league and apologized to everyone who might have hurt. Dale Steyn dreams of winning a purple cap and understands he has to play every game to accomplish that. The 37-year old sees a chance to play the marquee T20 league next year and revealed that the pandemic this year made it difficult to participate in. Steyn wished not to spend his time in quarantine and had to weigh his options; however, he feels there is an opportunity next year.

“If I want to win the purple cap I’ve got to play every game. There could be a chance next year, but for this year I felt that if I wanted to be taken more seriously I’ve got to play more cricket. But with the pandemic it makes it really difficult. I don’t want to spend most of my time sitting in quarantine. So you’ve got to weigh it up. But maybe there’s one more IPL for me. Let’s see,” Steyn told Cricbuzz.

I’ve got to go to leagues where I know there’s a 99% chance that I’m going to play every single game: Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn revealed that he had concerns whether Cricket South Africa might not take him seriously if he plays in IPL actively and underlined his agent also advising him to retire. Hence, the veteran wishes to be part of tournaments where there are more chances of playing every game and feared he might not get to play much in IPL like the 2020 edition.

“I think when you’re not playing for your country you quickly get forgotten. It was a concern of mine when I was still playing for South Africa. I had a chat with my agent. He was like, ‘Maybe you should retire.’ I’m like, ‘I’m worried that if I retire I might not get taken seriously as a cricketer to go to the IPL anymore. So I’ve got to go to leagues where I know there’s a 99% chance that I’m going to play every single game. If I went to the IPL this year I probably wouldn’t have played, just like I didn’t play (much) last year,” he added.

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