South Africa’s speedster Dale Steyn’s statement about ‘money-spinning’ Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken the cricketing world by storm.
In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, The Express Tribune’s cricket-centric website, Steyn stated that the importance given to cricket in the IPL is low as compared to other T20 leagues in the world.
“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 amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” said Steyn.
“When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League, for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket. 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,” he added.
With top websites picking up the story, Steyn’s remarks infuriated Indian cricket fans all over the world.
"When you come to the PSL or the LPL, there's an importance on the cricket"
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 2, 2021
Dale Steyn on opting out of the IPL this year 🗣️
(📹 courtesy @cricketpakcompk) pic.twitter.com/pkVHoRYLMI
"I've only been here a couple of days and I've had people coming to my room asking where I played and how I went about it. In the IPL, that kind of gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money you went for this IPL." - Dale Steyn.
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 2, 2021
Agree? 🤔 https://t.co/V0HqmUwfGE
Steyn said there is too much emphasis on money in the #IPL and that “cricket gets forgotten” as a result.https://t.co/n4CICeTTPn
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) March 2, 2021
'I wanted to stay away from that': Dale Steyn reveals why he decided to skip IPL 2021, finds other leagues 'more rewarding' https://t.co/vgtDoaWNbE
— Hindustan Times (@HindustanTimes) March 2, 2021
“I wrote the exact same sentiment that Dale Steyn shares here after I witnessed it myself at PSL 3. PSL is about creating opportunities for Pakistani youth. IPL is only about $$$,” said cricket enthusiast Dennis Freedman.
I wrote the exact same sentiment that Dale Steyn shares here after I witnessed it myself at PSL3
— Dennis COVID Super League (@DennisCricket_) March 2, 2021
PSL is about creating opportunities for Pakistani youth
IPL is only about $$$ pic.twitter.com/d1kvGMMxHk
“We only celebrate the sport from the outside. Dale Steyn tells us what happens inside IPL,” said journalist Rica Roy.
We only celebrate the sport from the outside. #DaleSteyn tells us what happens inside #IPL https://t.co/yrbdbdY4gz
— Rica Roy (@cheerica) March 2, 2021
“In defense of Steyn, he just expressed his opinion and that's perfectly fine. From the looks of it, Steyn has always found IPL to be stressful,” said another Twitter user.
In defense of Steyn, he just expressed his opinion and that's perfectly fine. From the looks of it, Steyn has always found IPL to be stressful. pic.twitter.com/MM6gKb9K8s
— Rishikeshwaran CA (@RishikeshwaranC) March 2, 2021
Meanwhile, majority of the Indian Twitter users expressed their displeasure over Steyn’s statement, bearing in mind his frequent appearances in the IPL over the past few years.
Dale Steyn in IPL
— tony ⎊ (@joeys_chandler) March 2, 2021
2016 : warmed benches whole season except 1 game
2017 : Not played in fear of warming the benches again
2018 : UNSOLD
2019 : UNSOLD (bought as injury replacement)
2020 : UNSOLD in 1st Round. RCB showed mercy in 2nd
2021 : opted out in fear of going unsold
Now we know why PSL is more rewarding 😂😂
— Sufiyan Mohammad (@iamsufiyaan7) March 2, 2021
Pic from 2018 Auctions which would have been repeated had he registered himself for auctions.#DaleSteyn pic.twitter.com/6lG5ZJCX05
#DaleSteyn said PSL is more rewarding than IPL because there is no KL Rahul in PSL. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/E5kc4X7l7V
— Syed Mohd Sufiyan (@iamsufiyan7) March 2, 2021
Surprising statement!!!!!
— Rishu Raj (@kingrishu_18) March 2, 2021
But it's his opinion and we have to accept it.....he can perform there because of not high quality of players as there in ipl......#DaleSteyn pic.twitter.com/DsguLCrJCC
Maybe midlife crisis is for real!! #DaleSteyn
— Keerthi S Bhat 🇮🇳 (@keerthibhat03) March 2, 2021
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