Hyderabad: Batsmen around the world get nightmares of him. But off field, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s pace spearhead, South African Dale Steyn, is a completely different man.
From constant Tweets, Instagram uploads to the photography course he is doing, the Steyn Gun is a true all-rounder. We caught up with Steyn as he talked about his time in Hyderabad, the chaotic life of a cricketer and more. The cricketers’ IPL stints, apart from the matches, are filled with shoots and hopping from one event to another.
“With the first leg of IPL being in Dubai, we had too many things to do as soon as we landed in India. You meet so many people and you can’t even interact with them socially. You try and do your best and then you know there are more people to meet,” Steyn laughs, adding, “It gets too much eventually. But it’s nice to know you have got a good following.”
One of the most memorable moments from this season of IPL has to be A.B. De Villiers tonking Steyn for 24 runs in an over, going on to snatch an almost impossible win. But what was even more appreciated was Steyn’s gesture of hugging his South African colleague after the match. “I have been watching him play since we were 17. That’s practically half of my life. Even if the match had been against another team, I would have congratulated him for his performance because we are good friends.”
Asked about the team’s game plan for the match against KKR, he says, “The game plan is to win. We select the base team according to the pitch conditions. We still need the points to qualify for the play offs and hopefully, we will be able to do that.”
And like we said, Steyn’s life is not just limited to cricket. He will soon be seen in a cameo in the Adam Sandler movie, Blended.
Talking about the role, he says, “It was an amazing experience. They have a scene where they are on a vacation in South Africa and while they are there, the little kid wants to play baseball. And we don’t play baseball, we play cricket. You know Adam Sandler movies, they are always funny. So to bring in that fun element, he wanted to shoot something on the cricket field. I was approached and I was all game for it.”
Will Steyn, who has broken up with his actor girlfriend, be seen in a Bollywood movie? “Well, I wouldn’t say no to it. I’m always up for alternative stuff.”
And while he has met a few Tollywood stars in the city, he couldn’t recall their names. “We just get to meet them when they come here for some of the matches.”
The Sunrisers have a full 10-day stop in Hyderabad and that gives them some time to themselves. “I’m doing a photography course and I try and spend most of my time alone, submitting my assignments. My time has been filled with training and then attending the events. In this IPL, the time has flown for me.”
