'I got a fair bit of abuse' - Dale Steyn reveals a 'great learning' instance involving diverse SA team

South African pace bowling legend Dale Steyn announced his retirement from all forms of the game on 31st August 2021. Steyn is one of the greatest pace bowlers in the history of South African cricket and picked up a total of 699 wickets in international cricket.

Steyn has now opened up on his childhood, and his growing-up days. Stating that he grew up in the African town of Phalaborwa, the pacer added that he was a little scared of everything he did as he was an English guy. Steyn also revealed that when he joined the South African National Team, his awareness of the Muslim community grew.

Steyn further reckoned that when he was in Sri Lanka for the first time, he could hear the call for prayer. Steyn also recalled that in his younger days, he asked whether the batsman was going to stop when the bowler is running in to bowl if the call for prayer came at that time.

“I grew up in this very Afrikaans of town of Phalaborwa and being English there – my whole family comes from Zimbabwe – I was already a little bit timid and scared of everything I did. It was difficult. When you join the South African team my awareness grew of what the Muslim community does and how things happen. I had no idea,” he says.

I remember being in Sri Lanka for the first time and you can hear the Muslim call to prayer. I asked a silly question because I genuinely didn’t know because of where I come from. I asked what if I’m running in to bowl and this happens, is the batter going to stop?” said Steyn in an interview with SACricket MAG.

Nothing needed to be scripted when it came to the Protean fire: Dale Steyn

Steyn added that he was abused for his question, but learned a lot from that experience. He further revealed that when people like Hashim Amla joined the South African side, they shared their knowledge with him in a patient manner.

“I got a fair bit of abuse but it was a great learning experience. When you join the team and you have guys like Hashim Amla, they were a lot more patient and shared their knowledge and I was able to tell them where I came from and my experiences,” said Steyn.

Stating that he has played out his entire career with the likes of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Heino Kuhn, and AB de Villiers, Steyn opined that he learned a lot from his teammates. Adding that there was nothing that was scripted when it came to performing for South Africa, Steyn concluded by stating that the respect that he shared with his teammates was a mutual one.

We were just young kids who were 20 years old, we loved the same things and we played our whole careers together – me, Hashim, Faf, AB, Heino Kuhn … I can go through a list of names. It was a wonderful time, we just fed off each other and learned from each other.

Nothing needed to be scripted when it came to the Protea Fire. That was obviously a great campaign to get the country behind the team but we had already gelled and we were friends playing all three formats with each other. The respect was mutual,” concluded Steyn.