Champions League T20: Fit-again Dale Steyn ready to boost Sunrisers Hyderabad
South African pace-king and world No. 1 Dale Steyn is making a comeback after recovering from a series of injuries that kept him out of South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in July.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's South African striker bowler Dale Steyn says he is fit and raring to go for the upcoming Champions League T20. This tournament will mark his comeback to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-forced break.
"There's nothing better than a bit of game time," Steyn was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
Recovering from as many as five different injuries that kept him out of South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in July, Steyn's first competition will be CLT20 starting September 17. Sunrisers will be the only Indian team to play the qualifiers in Mohali.
Sunrisers will be fighting for one of the two vacant spots in the main draw. Faisalabad Wolves (Pakistan), Otago Volts (New Zealand) and Kandurata Maroons (Sri Lanka) are the other teams that will play in the qualifiers of the tournament. The main draw league matches start from September 21 with Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians taking on Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
"Playing a Twenty20 game, you're still out in the field on your feet. You're still bowling your overs at high intensity. After the Champions Trophy in England, people will remember I didn't play a lot of cricket there. I ended up with about five injuries walking away from that tournament. I had a side strain, groin, glute, neck and a bit of an ankle problem," Steyn said.
Steyn was one of the main players that helped Sunrisers finish fourth in the sixth edition of the IPL and book a place for CLT20 qualifiers. He bagged 19 wickets from 17 matches at an average of 20.21 in the cash-rich tournament.
After CLT20, South Africa will travel to the United Arab Emirates for two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is against Pakistan in October. Steyn says he has been training really hard specially after his first four weeks of rehab where he did 'absolutely nothing'.
"The doctors said I had to be off my feet for the next four weeks. I had four weeks where I did absolutely nothing, where I did no running or gyming.
"I've had four weeks where I've been training really hard. I've (got) back to the gym, running and bowling.
"Two sessions a day for an hour and a half in the morning, then get back again in the afternoon. I haven't been going to bed so early since I was in primary school, so it shows that I've been working quite hard," said the 30-year-old pacer.