IPL playerSouth Africa2008 to 2020
Dale Steyn
On scorecards: DW Steyn · Right-hand bat
Dale Steyn, a bowler, played eleven IPL seasons for four franchises. In eleven seasons the title never came.
The arrival
Dale Steyn arrived through the auction: Royal Challengers Bangalore paid ₹1.3 cr (US$325k), against a base price of ₹60 lakh, at the very first IPL auction.
That first season brought 10 matches, 2 runs and 10 wickets at 6.57 an over.
The peak
The best season was 2013, for Sunrisers Hyderabad: 19 wickets at 5.80 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 7.51, with best figures of 3 for 11. Three seasons brought 15 wickets or more (2010, 2012 and 2013).
Franchise by franchise
2008 to 2010, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bought at the 2008 auction for ₹1.3 cr. 28 matches and 27 wickets.
2011 to 2012, Deccan Chargers. Bought at the 2011 auction for ₹5.4 cr. 24 matches and 32 wickets.
2013 to 2015, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Arrived outside the auction. 37 matches and 33 wickets.
2016, Gujarat Lions. Bought at the 2016 auction for ₹2.3 cr. 1 match.
2019 to 2020, Royal Challengers Bangalore, second time round. Back outside the auction. 5 matches and 5 wickets.
5 spells with four franchises in all. The longest was with Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2008 to 2010. 2017 and 2018 are missing from the record: seasons without an IPL appearance.
How the wickets came
With the ball, 97 wickets in 2,189 deliveries, at 6.92 runs an over against a league rate of 7.79 for the same seasons: 0.87 an over cheaper than the typical bowler of the time, the mark of a bowler who kept things tight.
46.7% of the balls Dale Steyn bowled were dots, a higher share than 100% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 22.5 balls.
The fielding record: 22 catches and 4 run-outs.
At the auction
Dale Steyn went under the hammer six times, bought four times and left unsold twice. The highest price was ₹5.4 cr (US$1.20m), paid by Deccan Chargers in 2011, more than 6 times the base price. Unsold in 2018, Dale Steyn was bought again in 2020 by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
The legacy
Dale Steyn made 95 IPL appearances, the last for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020, and won 5 player-of-the-match awards.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 2 | 1* | 2.0 | 40.0 | 0/0 | 10 | 6.57 | 3/27 | 4 | ||
| 2009 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | – | 0/0 | 2 | 6.89 | 1/21 | 2 | ||
| 2010 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 15 | 13 | 8 | 3.3 | 76.5 | 0/0 | 15 | 6.88 | 3/18 | 1 | ||
| 2011 | Deccan Chargers | 12 | 36 | 13 | 9.0 | 102.9 | 0/0 | 14 | 6.48 | 3/16 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Deccan Chargers | 12 | 19 | 7 | 3.8 | 90.5 | 0/0 | 18 | 6.09 | 3/8 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2013 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 17 | 53 | 18* | 26.5 | 147.2 | 0/0 | 19 | 5.80 | 3/11 | 3 | ||
| 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 22 | 12 | 7.3 | 84.6 | 0/0 | 11 | 7.70 | 2/20 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 6 | 20 | 19* | 20.0 | 153.8 | 0/0 | 3 | 8.95 | 2/38 | 2 | ||
| 2016 | Gujarat Lions | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 50.0 | 0/0 | 0 | 8.50 | - | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 0/0 | 4 | 8.63 | 2/29 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 3 | 1 | 1* | – | 50.0 | 0/0 | 1 | 11.40 | 1/33 | 0 |
Franchise journey
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2008 to 2010
- Deccan Chargers: 2011 to 2012
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2013 to 2015
- Gujarat Lions: 2016
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2019 to 2020
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 43.1% |
| Balls per four | 11.4 |
| Balls per six | 53.3 |
| Dot balls bowled | 46.7% |
| Balls per wicket | 22.5 |
| Catches | 22 |
| Run-outs | 4 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Set H | ₹60 lakh | Sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹1.3 cr (US$325k) |
| 2011 | – | ₹90 lakh | Sold to Deccan Chargers for ₹5.4 cr (US$1.20m) |
| 2016 | – | ₹1.5 cr | Sold to Gujarat Lions for ₹2.3 cr |
| 2018 | Fast Bowler | ₹1.0 cr | Unsold |
| 2019 | Fast Bowler | ₹1.5 cr | Unsold |
| 2020 | – | ₹2.0 cr | Sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹2.0 cr |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet