South African pacer Dale Steyn is at the end of his career. Having retired from Tests, he is now entirely focused on limited-overs cricket.
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Speaking of limited-overs cricket, Steyn continues to feature in domestic and franchise Twenty20 leagues across the world. He has also played for four sides in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
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However, Steyn dropped a bomb when he decided to skip the cash-rich tournament this season to focus on himself, besides playing more minor T20s leagues, including the Pakistan Super League. Upon being questioned, he came up with a brutal reason, stating that he wanted to play a tournament where cricket is given importance over money, unlike in the IPL.
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"I think when you go to the IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten," Steyn was quoted as saying by PTI.
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Speaking further on the topic, Steyn clarified, "When you come to like the PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League, for that matter, there is an importance on cricket. I have only been here for a couple of days and I have had people in and out of my room, just wanting to know about where I have played and how I went about it."
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"Whereas, when I go to something like the IPL that gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money did you go for in this IPL? That's just me being brutally honest. I wanted to stay away from that and really put more emphasis on playing and bringing good vibes to good cricket teams and tournaments I feel are worth it," he concluded.
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Steyn last played for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season, while his decision in January compelled the side to release him from the squad before the auction. Also, his regular injuries damaged his profile, as he could manage just 12 games in the past three seasons. To date, Steyn has claimed 97 wickets in 95 IPL games at an economy of 6.91.
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