After an illustrious 18 years of professional cricket, Dale Steyn has hung up his boots saying it was "bitter sweet but grateful."
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The end of a legendry career. We will witness no more stumps flying out and wild celebrations from the speedy gun. South African cricketer Dale Steyn announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with a Counting Crows song on his Twitter handle on Tuesday. He said that his decision was prompted partly by the Covid-19 pandemic, and partly because, at 38, he is looking forward to “life starting again” after 18 years of professional cricket.
“I guess Covid-19 kind of made me see things differently, it wasn’t fun anymore. And if it’s not fun then it’s not worth doing,” Steyn said. In his social media post, he summed up his state of mind as “bitter sweet but grateful”.
Steyn said on Twitter: “Today I officially retire from the game I love most. Bitter sweet but graceful. Thank you to everyone, from family to team-mates, journalists to fans, it’s been an incredible journey together.”
Announcement. pic.twitter.com/ZvOoeFkp8w
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 31, 2021
Steyn, who made his Test debut in 2004 on home soil against England, added,. “It’s been 20 years of training, matches, travel, wins, losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood.
“There are too many stories to tell. Too many faces to thank.”
Steyn appeared in 93 Test matches for South Africa, taking 439 wickets, at an average of 22.95. His best performance in Tests came against India in Nagpur in 2010, when he claimed figures of 7-51. He played his last Test against Sri Lanka in 2019 before announcing his retirement from Test cricket in August that year to focus on limited-overs cricket.
In ODIs, after debuting in 2005, Steyn took 196 wickets in 125 matches at an average of 25.95 and economy rate of 4.87. He also played in 47 T20Is for South Africa, taking 64 wickets.
BREAKING: Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
Steyn’s international career spanned over 17 years – he featured in 93 Tests, 125 ODI’s and 47 T20I’s for South Africa ??
— SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) August 31, 2021
He played for four English County Championship sides. Essex, Warwickshire, Glamorgan and Hampshire – and joined Kandy Tuskers for the 2020 Lanka Premier League in November last year. Meanwhile in the Indian Premier League (IPL) he has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, SunRisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions.
Steyn was named ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year and Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World in 2013 and was number one bowler in the ICC Test rankings for a record 263 weeks between 2008 and 2014.
Steyn was part of several iconic wins, including two Test series victories in England and Australia and two drawn series in India. His last international appearance in South African colours came in February 2020, in a T20I against Australia at Johannesburg.
