Pity That Everything Is Blocked Off: Dale Steyn

South Africa’s veteran fast bowler Dale Steyn has expressed thorough disappointment over cricket being affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

With the deadly outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, various cricket boards of multiple nations have either suspended or postponed multiple series and tournaments as the cricketing fraternity has come to a grinding halt.

Dale Steyn was with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League when several overseas stars started returning home due to the outbreak of a virus. He had played four matches for Islamabad before leaving Pakistan.

Dale Steyn Unhappy With The Lockdown Amid Coronavirus

“It is actually such a pity that everything is being blocked off, because in a country like South Africa, where we have all of our problems from the past – culture, religion, ethnic backgrounds – the one thing that brings everybody together is sport,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo.

“It is actually such a pity that everything is being blocked off, because in a country like South Africa, where we have all of our problems from the past – culture, religion, ethnic backgrounds – the one thing that brings everybody together is sport,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo.

Things Escalated Pretty Quickly: Steyn

“It happened really quickly. I was in Pakistan, but it was raining. We were under that kind of hotel arrest – advised not to go out and wander the streets, which is totally fine; I don’t want to break protocol and have something happen and be blamed for cricket never being played in Pakistan again because I did something stupid,” he added.

“As the week went on, everything just seemed to escalate. In the space of 24 to 48 hours, we went from nobody talking about coronavirus to, suddenly, everyone had a hand sanitiser and it was the biggest thing.”

The veteran right-armed was scheduled to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League next month.

The start of the IPL was recently postponed from 29 March to 15 April.

Also Read: New Zealand Players To Go Into Self-Isolation After Returning From Australia