Don’t see myself playing white ball cricket for South Africa after World Cup 2019, reveals Dale Steyn
South African pacer, Dale Steyn has revealed that he will be retiring from the shorter formats of the game after playing in the World Cup next year. Steyn has mentioned the age factor affecting his participation although, he is willing to play red-ball cricket for as long as possible.
Affected by injuries over the last couple of years, Steyn spoke about his retirement plans from white ball cricket at a promotional event for ‘GoPro’ in Mumbai on Thursday.
“I will try my level best to make into the South African team for next year’s World Cup in England. But after that, I don’t see myself playing limited overs cricket for South Africa. I will be 40 by the time the next World Cup comes,” Steyn revealed.
The 35-year-old felt that one of the main reasons for him getting selected for the World Cup was the lack of experience affecting the current South African ODI team lower down the order. He stated that only the top six players (in the batting order) have had some fair amount of experience but the rest are lagging behind.
“If you look at the South African batting line-up, the top six have played nearly 1000 games but the rest have not even played 150. You need experience,” he added.
“Hopefully that will be a major factor for my selection in the World Cup. I won’t be getting all the games but I hope to give my best in whichever I play.”
However, Steyn expressed about his love for the longest format and said that he would love to play Test cricket for as long as possible. He spoke about his luck and how difficult it was for him to recover from the injuries.
“Test cricket according to me defines the sport. I would love to play the longest format as long as possible. Luck has not been on my side of late. A broken shoulder and then a foot injury (on return) certainly do not help,” Steyn said.
Talking about the upcoming Test series between India and England, Steyn said that the Virat Kohli-led India is highly talented and is capable of doing anything. However, he backed the English team to win the series considering the home conditions. However, he did not rule out India’s chances completely stating their performances in the South African tour.
“I feel England are probably ahead of India considering the home advantage. I will probably put my money on England. However, India
Steyn further compared the two bowling line-ups (India and England) and claimed that the English attack will outperform the visitors considering the highly skilled bowlers the hosts possess.
“It is going to be a great series. I think the English bowlers are a bit more skilled than the Indians and that might be the difference (between the two teams) considering the series victory,” he added.
