South African pacer Dale Steyn has announced retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday. The right arm Proteas pacer announced his retirement via his Twitter account. Steyn played 93 Tests (439 wickets), 125 ODIs (196 wickets), and 47 T20Is (64 wickets) for South Africa.
Announcement. pic.twitter.com/ZvOoeFkp8w
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 31, 2021
He posted a special read on his Twitter account along with his pictures as he bid adieu to cricket. The retirement post read, “And it’s been a long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than last,” Steyn said in his statement. “I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.
“It’s been 20 years since training, matches, travel, wins, losses, strapped feet, jetlag, joy, and brotherhood. There are too many memories to tell. Too many faces to thank. So I left it to the experts to sum up, my favourite band, the Counting Crows.”
“Today I officially retire from the game I love the most, bittersweet but grateful. Thank you to everyone, from family to teammates, journalists to fans, it has been an incredible journey together. Thank you to everyone, from family to teammates, journalists to fans, it has been an incredible journey together.”
The 38-year old discontinued playing the red-ball game in 2019 but continued to play in the 50-over format and 20-over format. With a total of 439 wickets in the whites, Steyn is the leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the Test format. The bowling great surpassed Shaun Pollock in 2019.
Dale Steyn career summary
The Proteas quick’s cricket career spanned over 17 years. He first appeared for South Africa back then in 2004.
| M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR | 5W | 10W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 93 | 171 | 18608 | 10077 | 439 | 7/51 | 11/60 | 3.25 | 22.95 | 42.39 | 26 | 5 |
| ODI | 125 | 124 | 6256 | 5088 | 196 | 6/39 | 6/39 | 4.88 | 25.96 | 31.92 | 3 | 0 |
| T20I | 47 | 47 | 1015 | 1175 | 64 | 4/9 | 4/9 | 6.95 | 18.36 | 15.86 | 0 | 0 |
| IPL | 95 | 95 | 2176 | 2508 | 97 | 3/8 | 3/8 | 6.92 | 25.86 | 22.43 | 0 | 0 |
As for the cash-rich league, Steyn has represented various franchises- Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), SunRisers Hyderabad, Deccan Chargers, and Gujarat Lions during his career.
