Updated March 2nd, 2021 at 15:01 IST

Dale Steyn has case of sour grapes? Fans lash out at ex-RCB star for picking PSL over IPL

Indian fans slam Dale Steyn after the South African speedster oddly claimed that the IPL is more about money than cricket, unlike the Pakistan Super League.

Reported by: Aakash Saini
| Image:self
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Earlier this year, South African speedster Dale Steyn made himself unavailable from the Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) season. Taking to Twitter, the cricketer wrote that he will still be participating in other leagues, thus denying any rumours of his retirement. As of now, Steyn is playing alongside the likes of Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Sarfaraz Ahmed for the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League 2021 (PSL 2021) season.

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Indian fans slam Dale Steyn after speedster degrades IPL over its Pakistani counterpart

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Dale Steyn shared his experiences of playing in IPL and compared the tournament with PSL and the Sri Lankan Premier League. He said that playing in IPL is “less rewarding” as compared to playing in other leagues of the world. Interestingly, the 37-year-old speedster has competed in 11 IPL seasons ever since he made his debut in the inaugural edition back in 2008.

Dale Steyn claimed that he notices an “importance on cricket” among players from PSL and Sri Lankan Premier League. On the other hand, he described IPL as a tournament where cricket often gets “forgotten” as the main topic remains: “How much money did you go for in this IPL?”.

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Apparently, Indian fans did not take Dale Steyn’s comments lightly, as a legion of them took to Twitter and slammed the ex-RCB star. Some fans were of the opinion that Steyn’s sudden praise for PSL comes on the back of his poor outing in the most recent edition of the IPL. Back in 2020, the right-arm pacer played three matches and took just 1 wicket at an average of 133. Here is a look at some of the fans reacting to Dale Steyn’s latest opinions on IPL.

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IPL 2021: Virat Kohli set to lead RCB players

After Dale Steyn made himself unavailable from the upcoming edition of IPL to play in the PSL 2021 season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise respectfully excluded him from their list of retained players. On January 20, the franchise named 12 retained stars including captain Virat Kohli and star attractions AB de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal. On February 18, they made new additions in the form of Glenn Maxwell and Kylie Jamieson at the IPL 2021 auction.

List of RCB players for IPL 2021 season

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Image source: Dale Steyn Instagram

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Published March 2nd, 2021 at 15:01 IST