
South African pacer Dale Steyn created a huge uproar on social media after he said that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is more rewarding than the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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However, the pacer has now has issued an apology to his fans and said that he never meant to degrade or insult the IPL.
The South Africa speedster said that the IPL is less rewarding for the cricketers than other franchise leagues around the world due to too much emphasis on the money involved in the IPL while adding that “cricket gets forgotten” as a result.
The speedster took to Twitter and said: “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 of any leagues. Social media and words out of context can often do that. My apologies if this has upset anyone. Much love.”
Despite the apology, fans unleashed their anger towards the pacer calling him a hypocrite.
Speaking to Express Tribune, Steyn, who had decided to withdraw his name from IPL 2021 said, “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 amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten,” he added.
Steyn has been a part of IPL franchises like Deccan Chargers, SunRisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the past.
“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?” said Steyn.
Steyn didn’t play much in IPL 2020 due to his poor performances with the ball. In three matches, Steyn scalped just one wicket at an average of 133 and strike-rate of 11.40.