Dale Steyn Apologises After ‘PSL More Rewarding’ Comment
South Africa pacer Dale Steyn, who had called PSL and LPL more rewarding than IPL, has apologized for his statement and said that the cash-rich Indian league has been nothing but amazing in his career.
A day after stating that cricket at times takes backstage in the Indian Premier League (IPL), South Africa pacer Dale Steyn issued an apology on Twitter saying he never intended to degrade or insult the tournament.
“IPL has been nothing short of amazing in my career, as well as other players too. My words were never intended to be degrading, insulting, or comparing any leagues. Social media and words out of context can often do that. My apologies if this has upset anyone. Much love”, Steyn tweeted.
What did Dale Steyn say about PSL and IPL?
Steyn, who had made himself unavailable for IPL 2021, on Tuesday said that tournaments like Pakistan Super League and Lankan Premier League are more rewarding as a player than the IPL where the focus is more on the money and not the game itself.
“I wanted some time off. I found that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the number of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” Steyn said in an interview with ‘cricket Pakistan’ official YouTube Channel.
“When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League, for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket. I have only been here for a couple of days and I have had people in and out of my room, just wanting to know about where I have played and how I went about it. Whereas, when I go to something like the IPL that gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money did you go for in this IPL? That’s just me being brutally honest. I wanted to stay away from that and really put more emphasis on playing and bringing good vibes to good cricket teams and tournaments I feel are worth it,” he added.
After being heavily criticized by cricket fans, Steyn took to Twitter to issue an apology claiming that his experience in IPL has been amazing and his words were taken out of context.
In January this year, Steyn had made himself unavailable for IPL 2021 but ruled out an imminent retirement from competitive cricket. The 37-year-old had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last edition of the IPL, where he got to play three matches and bagged one wicket.
