A true champion of the game, says Virat Kohli after Dale Steyn hangs his boots in Tests

Dale Steyn announced retirement from Test cricket on Monday and the world came crashing down for his fans. His career has been hamstrung with injuries over the last couple of years. He even missed the recently concluded World Cup due to shoulder injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL). In an attempt to prolong his career, South Africa’s premier pacer decided to call it quits from the whites and his dear friend and the Indian captain Virat Kohli has bid a perfect goodbye.

Steyn and Kohli share a special camarderie and it was visible when the fast bowler was signed to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this year. Though he played only a couple of matches for the team before getting injured, Steyn bowled with similar menace to stun the oppositions. Even Kohli was in awe looking at him bowl and had lauded the pacer for his effectiveness on the field irrespective of the format.

No wonder Virat Kohli will miss playing against Dale Steyn in the Test format and put out a wonderful tweet for the South African. “A true champion of the game. Happy retirement to the pace machine @DaleSteyn62,” Kohli wrote in his tweet.

Here’s his tweet:

A true champion of the game.
Happy retirement to the pace machine @DaleSteyn62 🙏🏼💯

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 5, 2019

Test cricket is the best version

Dale Steyn picked a mammoth 439 wickets in 93 Test matches he played which included as many as 26 five-wicket hauls and five 10-wicket match hauls. He loved the longest format of the sport and admitted that it was the tough decision to hang the boots. But at the 36 years of age, the pacer had to take a decision and is now targetting the T20 World Cup next year it seems.

“Today I walk away from a format of the game I love so much. In my opinion Test cricket is the best version of this game. It tests you mentally, physically, emotionally. It’s terrible to consider never playing another Test again but what’s more terrifying is the thought of never playing again at all. So I will be focusing on ODIs and T20s for the rest of my career to maximise my full potential and ensure my longevity in this sport,” he said according to Cricbuzz.