ICC World T20 2016: Fit again Dale Steyn raring to go

Dale Steyn said that he had no plans to slow down despite recent injury setbacks

South Africa’s pace spearhead Dale Steyn dismissed any fears of an injury and said that he was fit and raring to go at the ICC 2016 World T20, Wisden India reports. The 32-year-old added that he had put the agonising manner of exit at the 2015 World Cup behind him and was looking forward to helping South Africa their first ever World Cup title.

Steyn has had a torrid time of late with frequent injuries limiting his game time in the lead-up to the World T20. He missed the latter part of South Africa’s tour of India in late 2015 and was ruled out of a major part of the series against England at home. The right-arm fast bowler said that he had perhaps tried to rush him come back too soon but added that he is feeling as good as ever now.

“I am fit, I am fine. It wasn’t a lot of injuries. It was two injuries. The first was, unfortunately, the groin and the second was a shoulder injury. I think I made it worse trying to rush back for that second Test in Bangalore (in mid-November), which put me out for another four weeks. I had a really bad shoulder and the deal was I couldn’t come back for a while,” Steyn said.

“There’s not much you can do about that when you have a broken shoulder. It is kind of tough to get through it because that’s like eight to ten weeks. It wasn’t like I was injured the entire time, I just had a really bad injury. I am feeling fine,” he continued. “It is good to be back here in India. I’ve had a couple of games against Australia, a couple of warm-up games, I’m bowling in the nets. It is coming out nicely. Stoked!”

Talking more about the experience of playing on Indian pitches, Steyn said that though he had a preference for the traditional slow wickets, he was ready for any kind of surface.

“I’ve always said I can bowl on anything,” said Steyn. “I kind of prefer the wickets that are slow and turning. The ball stops, it makes it tougher for batters to hit out of the ground, especially Nagpur, which is a big ground. I guess New Zealand’s thinking was the correct one in playing the three spinners.

“We know what our strengths are. As a seamer, I will back myself. Fast cutters are kind of hard to hit out the ground. If it’s coming in at 140-145kph then you don’t need to worry about bowling the perfect yorker. You can run in and bowl back of a length, and that might bounce and skid or stay low on that type of wicket.”

Steyn hoping to end South Africa’s ICC title drought

Steyn revealed that he was hurt more by the way people still remember the moment when New Zealand’s Gary Elliot smashed him over the ropes to send South Africa crashing out of the 2015 World Cup at the semi-final stages than by the match itself.

“It is a pity that everyone recollects that ball,” he said. “I don’t think about that ball. I think more about the thing that happened after that ball when he (Elliott) picked me up off the ground. That was a better moment. I think we had many opportunities to win that game. Unfortunately, that was the moment they won that game. It doesn’t always boil down to that last ball or that last run, there were a whole lot of things that we missed in that game leading up to that ball.”

Steyn is, however, mindful of the fact that the Proteas are yet to bag a major ICC title (barring the 1998 ICC Knockout trophy) and is hopeful that they can bring the drought to an end. The speedster though acknowledged that the unpredictability of the T20 format gives all teams an equal shot at the big prize.

“We haven’t won one,” he said. “We’ve obviously been a powerhouse team for a long time now and is a disappointment to all our fans around the world that we haven’t won one. We would like to win. Every tournament we head to, we try and be as best prepared as possible. We have got some of the best bowlers in the world, if not the best bowlers in the world.

"Twenty20, though, is a strange game. I think anybody in the top seven teams in the world, and that’s with all due respect to the others, can win it really. We’ve seen the Netherlands beat England in the past. They almost beat us in the last World T20. It is a format where anyone can beat anybody,” Steyn said.

Steyn wants to continue performing like a “rockstar”

Responding to questions regarding whether he will be slowing down in the wake of recent injury problems, Steyn compared himself to a “rockstar” and said that pace was his biggest asset and that he had no plans whatsoever to slow down.

“I’ve made a career out of it (bowling fast),” he said. “You’re the rockstar at the end of the day. I can slog 30 runs, but not everyone can run in and bowl 145-150kph. If you can do it, you must do it.”

South Africa’s pace battery will be headed by Steyn and the energetic youngster Kagiso Rabada who has well and truly announced his arrival at the international level with his consistent performances. Steyn was all praise for his bowling partner and named unpredictability as Rabada’s biggest threat.

“He’s fantastic. He is really quick. I don’t think many teams have played against him yet, so I don’t think they can go about what they think he’s gonna do. But he is surprising to us too. I’ll be standing down at fine-leg and thinking he is going to bowl a gun bouncer now, and then he comes up with a beautiful yorker.

“He has got a gut feel about himself and I think that’s his greatest asset right now. People know what he is capable of because he’s quick and executes his skills well, but they don’t quite know what he is going to do which is his biggest strength right now,” Steyn said.