Titans rest Dale Steyn for the Ram Slam T20 final

The Titans have decided to rest the premier South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn for the final of the ongoing Ram Slam T20 tournament. They are all set to face the Dolphins for the ultimate glory on Saturday and will be without their ace bowler. The final will be played at the Supersport Park in Centurion. However, the defending champions are less likely to feel Steyn’s absence as they have played most matches of the tournament without him.

Steyn has been away from International cricket for a long time now and last played in the Test series against Australia in 2016. He has been training hard since coming back onto the field and is itching to make his come back. Even Cricket South Africa (CSA) is also keeping a close look on his fitness and stamina during the ongoing T20 competition. More interestingly, he is set to return for the upcoming four-day boxing day Test (D/N) against Zimbabwe.

Mark Boucher opines

Dale Steyn was not included in the final squad announced by the Titans ahead of the title clash against the Dolphins. Their coach Mark Boucher also revealed that Steyn will ‘not get strong enough’ by bowling four overs in the game for the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe. The premier pace bowler played five matches in the tournament and bowled with the old menace to pick six wickets.

He is also only five wickets away from becoming the all-time leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format of the game. Currently, Shaun Pollock leads the charts with 421 wickets to his name, the current benchmark at the national level. Steyn has 417 wickets so far and most likely will go past Pollock against Zimbabwe if he finds his rhythm early on. He will be itching to play against India in what is expected to be an extremely close series as the visitors are eyeing their first ever series victory in Tests.