Dale Steyn who currently enjoys his new stint as SRH’s fast bowling coach in IPL 2022 had a detailed conversation on his new assignment with a media where he throws his views on IPL sensation Umran Malik and answered much more interesting questions.
In December 2021, Steyn was appointed as the fast bowling coach of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2022 IPL season.
Kane Willamson led Sunrisers Hyderabad currently holds the fifth position in IPL 2022 points table and struggles to make their way into the IPL 2022 playoffs.
Excerpts
How has been this new assignment as a coach? How different it is from being a player in the team?
Though, this is the first time I am doing it (coaching) full time and am not really worried about my own playing which is a big relief.
Because as a player when you go to bed, you think about your performance and about your opposition but now I don’t have to worry about all those things. I just have to share the information which is great. It’s just more full-time.
But you seem to be as pumped up from the SRH dug-out. It looks like nothing much has changed and you want to go into the field!
Ohh, I am still young by heart and in the body. Nothing wrong with me! To be honest with you, I would probably still be playing if I wanted to play. The only reason I don’t play is that I got to a stage where I didn’t want to do (play) it anymore.
At this stage, I don’t want to run in and bowl to someone like Kieron Pollard or Aiden Markram or Rahul Tripathi who look like trying to hit me out of the ground (laughs). I don’t want to do this anymore.
I still feel like I am involved (in the game) When Bhuvi (Bhubaneshwar Kumar), Umran (Malik) and Natu (T Natarajan) or anyone picks up a wicket and I feel like I am also getting something.
Teacher Student
. #SRHvGT #UmranMalik #Steyn pic.twitter.com/bSPYkjOMs9
— Times of Sports (@timesofsports) April 27, 2022
I am with them when they are training and practising and I am catching up with them. They get the rewards but I feel like that’s great. Come on! When it comes off in that phase of the game, I feel very proud.
Former South African coach Ray Jennings didn’t waste much time when he saw you for the first time and introduced you to Test cricket immediately even when you had just seven first-class matches under your belt. Do you think that same can be done to young pace sensation Umran Mallik?
Yeah, I mean it’s different now. We didn’t have T20 then so it was difficult for young players to get into an international environment where they are playing against the best players of the world without having to throw into the deep waters of Test cricket as was the case with me or a lot of other players like AB and many other during that era or before that.
Now, someone like Jasprit Bumrah playing in IPL is like playing international cricket. That (option) wasn’t available unless you were playing international cricket. As long as he (Umran)is playing in the IPL (and performing), maybe he will get selected for the South Africa series (white balls series in June, immediately after the IPL gets over) maybe in one or two T20 matches.
Who knows! I am just throwing up the things! That’s is the way for him to feel the environment. He is tipping his toes like what is like to be at the highest level. Whereas back in the days, there was no tipping in the toes.
You were just thrown into the deep water and the only option was either you sink or swim! Either you are good or you are not. Some guys were able to rise onto the top and carry on and some guys just faltered and had to make a comeback after a couple of years to be where they deserved to be.
Now we have got this opportunity to give guys a little taste of international cricket. T20 here and there and some ODIs. Even if not playing in the playing
Now the obvious question which you must be expecting. Umran Malik! What was your first impression of the Kashmiri pacer coming out from nowhere?
My first impression was I saw him making his debut when I was doing some media work in India. I watched him making his debut in the IPL 2021 and was blown away by how quick he was. And how consistently fast he was.
It’s a whole different thing when you actually watch him in the nets or in a game than you watch him on TV. He is so much faster in real life! So, meeting him in real life – the man, the interesting character – he is completely different to when I watched him on TV.
He is a fantastic guy and bowls extremely fast. One thing that stands out straight away is his pace, he has got an incredibly high work ethic and he just wants to keep learning and learning. He wants to keep going. You can’t really ask for more than a coach or captain.
South Africa always had an enviable pace attack. When you look at Indian team now, did you ever think that it can become such a powerful fast bowling nation?
I am a fan of fast bowling. So, I always hoped they it would come. Don’t get me wrong because when I was playing at the highest level, I enjoyed watching them. Obviously, as a batter I didn’t want to face a Bumrah or a Mitchell Johnson or a Bret Lee but they inspired me to do better.
They pushed me to do better whether it was pace, skill or combat. Over the last 10 years or so, a lot of young Indians have started picking those traits from the overseas pace bowlers.
India had a couple of fast bowlers but they were scattered all over the place. India is such a massive population that you are pretty certain that you will always find somebody in billion who bowls fast- 145 or 150 kmph.
And we were always going to unearth those guys and when I say we it means the cricket world. Because now they have got heroes and can play with myself, Morne Morkel, Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada.
Whereas in past the aim would be to become an Anil Kumble or a Harbhajan Singh, I think now (the youngsters) are so much closer to the guys who are their heroes (fast bowling). I think IPL changed the way Indian cricket goes about its business.
During your formative years, you wanted be like the next Allan Donald. If you were growing up today, who would he like to be? I am quite happy with who I am! But Harrison Roch is a professional surfer, he is amazing and I would like to be Roch and I wouldn’t have played cricket!
No, no, I am asking about someone from cricket? And, it is a hypothetical question! A fast bowler?
Allan Donald (former South African great) was my favourite in that era as it was difficult to change my mind set. Right now, Umran Malik is one guy who has got everything going for him. And also, Marco Jansen.
They are two different bowlers, one guy is super tall and hits the deck hard and swings the ball while the other guy is short and skiddy and is super quick. If you are starting your career as a young fast bowler today, you want to be like them as they have got the world ahead of them, IPL is at their feet.
That means people are talking about them and they will be financially good. And they will be playing at the highest level for years to come. You can see people are talking about them
