Dale Steyn Apologises To Virat Kohli And Indian Fans After T20I Snub

South Africa’s veteran pacer Dale Steyn has taken a sly dig at South Africa’s selectors after being ignored for the upcoming T20I series against India. The Proteas will visit India next month for a T20I and a Test series. South Africa and India will play three T20Is and as many Tests. Steyn, nonetheless, is clearly angry over the snub.

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Earlier this month, Steyn announced his retirement from Test cricket in order to prolong his cricket career. Steyn is bound to feel hard done by after the snub. South African selectors have named three uncapped players for the T20I series with Temba Bavuma, Bjorn Fortuin and Anrich Nortje finding a place.

South Africa made it clear that they are preparing for the next World T20 and perhaps that is what made them ignore Steyn. But the senior pacer, who is South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker in Tests, was not at all impressed with the snub.

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Responding to a tweet which questioned his absence, Steyn revealed that he had made himself available for selection but the selectors missed his number. It all started when a man named Neil Manthorp pointed out the reason behind Chris Morris’ exclusion from the squad. Morris made himself unavailable for the tour.

“I did… Obviously lost my number in the reshuffling of the coaching staff,” Steyn wrote in his tweet taking an indirect dig at the selectors.

Interesting 'footnote' at the end of CSA's squad announcement for T20Is and Tests vs India… "Chris Morris did not make himself available for selection."

— Neil Manthorp (@NeilManthorp) August 13, 2019

I did… Obviously lost my number in the reshuffling of coaching staff.

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 13, 2019

In another tweet, Steyn apologised to Virat Kohli and Indian fans after the man also took a dig at South Africa, saying that the Proteas are saving the pacer for the big occasion.

Apologies to Virat and a billion people for thinking they not

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 13, 2019

Steyn, meanwhile, has not played a competitive game since the game for Royal Challengers Bangalore in April. A shoulder injury had ruled him out of the IPL. He was a part of South Africa’s World Cup squad but could not play a single game before being ruled out of the tournament.

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So far, Dale Steyn has represented South Africa in 44 T20Is, picking up 61 wickets at an average of 17.50. For a fast bowler, he also has a decent economy of 6.79 in the shortest format of the game. Steyn has also played 201 T20s and has scalped 231 wickets.