South Africa pacer Dale Steyn pulls out of IPL 2021

Steyn cleared the air on his retirement and said he is taking some time off from cricket and is not calling it quits.

Cape Town: South Africa pacer Dale Steyn, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), on Saturday informed that he will not be featuring in the 14th edition of the league.

Steyn cleared the air on his retirement and said he is taking some time off from cricket and is not calling it quits.

Dale Steyn

"Just a short message to let everyone know that I've made myself unavailable for RCB at this years IPL, I'm also not planning on playing for another team, just taking some time off during that period. Thank you to RCB for understanding. No, I'm not retired," Steyn tweeted.

Pacer Steyn, who retired from red-ball cricket last season as the country's all-time leading wicket-taker with 439 strikes, was named in the Test Team of the Decade.

The 37-year-old bowler has scalped 97 wickets from 95 matches in the IPL. Steyn has an economy rate of 6.91 and has an average of 25.85.

Dale Steyn

In the 13th edition of the IPL, the South African bowler played three games and was able to get only a wicket.

RCB finished fourth in the table in the 13th edition of IPL. The Virat Kohli-led side finished runners-up in 2016.