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South African pace bowler Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He was the leader of the bowling attack that helped South Africa reign supreme in Test cricket in the late 2000s and early 2010s across diverse playing conditions.
During his 16-year international career between 2004 and 2020, Dale Steyn picked up a whopping 699 wickets from 265 matches across all three formats of the game.
With 439 wickets in Test cricket, he is the highest wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format and eighth-best overall.
The 38-year-old last played a cricket match in March this year. It was a Pakistan Super League game between Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans. He finished the match with figures of 3.4-0-34-1.
Steyn took to his official Twitter handle today to announce his retirement with an emotional message. It read:
"And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last. I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.
"It’s been 20 years of training, matches, travel, people, wins, losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy, and brotherhood. There are too many memories to tell. Too many faces to thank.
"So I left it to the experts to sum up, my favorite band, the Counting Crows. Today I officially retire from the game I love the most. Bitter sweet but grateful. Thank you to everyone, from family to teammates, journalists to fans, it’s been a incredible journey together."
Steyn's former teammates AB de Villiers and Kagiso Rabada react to his announcement
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn have been great friends on and off the field over the years. They even made their Test debut for South Africa in the same match back in 2004 against England at Port Elizabeth.
De Villiers sent a warm message to Steyn after the latter's announcement on Twitter.
"Great player, great man, amazing memories! U picked a good song to sign off my bud. Legend forever!"
Even Kagiso Rabada joined De Villiers to pay tribute to the legendary career of Dale Steyn. He commented on Instagram:
"Gun career 🦅! Go well Dalo 🍷"
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