After the Proteas pacer, Dale Steyn said that he decided to opt-out of IPL 2021 as according to him the other T20 leagues were “more rewarding as a player”, India’s deputy skipper in Tests, Ajinkya Rahane refused to make any comment on Steyn’s statement but added that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has provided many Indian and overseas cricketers with the platform to express themselves over the years.

Currently, Stey is plying his trade for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), said that since players earn so much money in the IPL, sometimes “cricket gets forgotten”. The Delhi Capitals batsman refused to comment on Steyn’s statement saying that he was not sure exactly what he had said.

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During a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Ajinkya Rahane said, “See, I am here to talk about the fourth Test match and not here to talk about PSL or Sri Lanka Premier League. IPL gave us that platform to express ourselves and also to a lot of Indians and overseas players. I am not sure what Dale Steyn has said, I am here to talk about this Test match.”

Steyn also pointed towards the fact that every IPL franchise has such big squads filled with so many big names and there is so much emphasis on the money a player is making.

Elaborating the same, Steyn said, “I have found that playing in other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. When you go to IPL, there are such big squads and there are so many big names and there’s so much emphasis on the amount of money that the players earn that sometimes, somewhere along the line the cricket gets forgotten.”

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Meanwhile, Rahane confirmed that Umesh Yadav is has been bowling well and had a good net session ahead of the fourth and final Test, which is scheduled to be commencing on March 4 in Ahmedabad.