South African pace bowler Dale Steyn will return to the international fray after a long battle with injury in the upcoming T20Is against England.
The Steyn Gun has only fired last for the South Africans during the Sri Lanka series in the early part of last year.
Since then, he has only featured in T20 leagues in Australia for Melbourne Stars and the Mzanzi Super League for the Blitz.
“I actually can’t remember the last time I played a game for South Africa‚ so its really good to be back‚” Steyn told the media on the eve of the first T20I against England at East London.
Steyn will share the dressing room with former colleagues Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis once again. The two Protea legends have taken up the mentorship roles under the new regime of directorship under Graeme Smith.
“It’s a great set-up‚ I played a lot of cricket with Mark (Boucher) throughout my career and obviously played for the Titans with him as a coach,” added Steyn, according to Times Live.
“So it’s nice to be back with him around‚ as well as Jacques (Kallis) and Graeme (Smith) running the show‚ it’s just great to walk into the dressing room with familiar faces that I played a lot of cricket with,” the 36-year old added.
Steyn has put his bet on the leadership of Quinton de Kock, who has put on a stellar show with the bat during the ODI series. England and South Africa shared the ODI series with the 1-all result.
“In this series, I think we have to play smart‚ the senior guys will need to step up‚ Quinny (Quinton de Kock) has been phenomenal throughout the Test series and ODI’s and I think he will lead this team again with bat and captaincy‚” continued the pacer.
Further, the South African speedster eyes the upcoming T20 mega event in Australia after planning stints with Islamabad United and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the PSL and IPL, respectively.
“After that, it will be the Proteas and I will give it everything I’ve got until the World Cup,” concluded the South African talisman.
