Dale Steyn announces retirement from Test cricket

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, who has been out of the ground for quite some time due to injury retired from Test cricket. On Monday, Steyn gave his information to the South African Cricket Association while saying goodbye to the oldest format of cricket. Although Steyn will continue to play one-day and T-20 cricket.

Steyn, 36, is South Africa’s most successful bowler. The player, who played Test cricket for his country for 16 years, took 438 wickets in 93 Tests. ‘Steyngun’, who made his debut in December 2004 against England at Port Elizabeth, also played his last Test match (February 2019 vs Sri Lanka) at the same venue.

South Africa’s performance in the World Cup 2019 was very disappointing. Dale Steyn’s exclusion was one of the reasons for this. He was ruled out of the tournament without playing a single match due to a shoulder injury, he had also played only 2 matches in IPL 2019, where he also took four wickets for Virat Kohli-led RCB.

In the recent past, two legendary South African players have retired from cricket. In 2018, AB De Villiers had said goodbye to the game, now Steyn also called it a day from Test cricket. 36-year-old Steyn had undergone shoulder surgery in 2016, but he was unable to heal completely.

Steyn was awarded the ‘Streetwise Award’ of South African cricket on Sunday. Steyn wrote in a letter to Cricket South Africa, ‘Today I am breaking away from the format of cricket that I loved the most. I believe that Test cricket is the best version of the game. Tests you mentally, physically and emotionally. Thinking about not playing a test again makes me sad, but sometimes not being able to play at all is even more painful. So I will focus on ODI and T20.’ The South African speedster had overtaken Shaun Pollock to become the leading wicket taker for his nation.