South Africa pace great Dale Steyn has expressed his frustration and disappointment with fast bowlers in the present day, stating that only a handful bowlers are able to deliver at crucial stages of the game by reading and adapting to the situation. In his criticism of modern day bowlers, Steyn pointed out two pacers who stand above the rest. They are India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah – the current ICC Cricketer of the Year – and South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada, in many ways the successor to Steyn.
“I have seen international players today that will run in and bowl six balls without changing the field once, and they’ve played for ten years at the highest level. And sometimes I sit there and I’m pulling my hair out and I just think, can you not see what’s going to happen?” Steyn said, speaking on ESPNcricinfo.
Here is where Steyn reserved special appreciation for bowlers like Bumrah and Rabada. In particular, Steyn singled out Bumrah, calling him the best all-round package among fast bowlers.
“You look at guys like (Jasprit) Bumrah, he’s probably the all-in-all package, him and KG (Kagiso) Rabada. They’ve got the ability to come and bowl at any particular time in a game and take a wicket. Those guys are like gold. So if you can produce more bowlers like that, we’ll start to see our fast-bowling stock get so much better,” Steyn said.
“It’s not just about bowling 155 kph these days or having tens of different types of skills, it’s really about being able to break the game open when your captain needs it,” Steyn further added.
New Zealand pace great Shane Bond, also present in the conversation, added to Steyn’s sentiment, saying that most of the bowlers in the modern day are often clueless in pressure situations of a cricket match.
“I think 70% of bowlers don’t know what they are doing. I say to my captains, don’t ever be afraid to tell a bowler what to bowl and then manoeuvre the field for them,” Bond added.
Bumrah is currently recovering from a back issue to be able to play for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2025. However, reportedly he is expected to miss the first few games.
On the other hand, Rabada will donning new colours this season, having been bought by Gujarat Titans (GT) for Rs 10.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
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