Is Dale Steyn the Roger Federer of cricket? SA bowler's feat strengthens incredible claim

What is the one thing in common between tennis ace Roger Federer and South African pace sensation Dale Steyn? At first thought, one would struggle to come up with an answer. But as some observant fans on Twitter have pointed out, the two men share a common record that goes back many years. At 37 and 39, both Steyn and Federer are in the twilight years of their careers. Once at the top of their chosen careers - tennis and fast bowling - each of them has a legion of records and glory to look back at when they do decide to retire. 

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Dale Steyn overtakes Roger Federer's No.1 ranking record

Just one of Roger Federer's many records is the 237 consecutive weeks the GOAT was ranked as the No.1 player in the world. This record has taken on almost mythical proportions in the world of tennis and since its creation, all the way back in 2008, neither Nadal nor Djokovic has even come close to touching it. However, as Twitter user @JvrensburgKobus has pointed out South African pace bowler, Dale Steyn has surpassed this great record - albeit in cricket. 

At the peak of his career, Dale Steyn spent an astonishing 263 weeks as the ICC No.1 bowler in the world. Acknowledging a Tweet pointing this out, the self-deprecating star - who has recently taken to growing his locks - pointed out that while he may have trounced Federer in his record, the Swiss maestro still pulled off the headband better than him. While Federer has chopped his locks off he is still seen sporting a headband regularly.

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Dale Steyn retirement update and IPL 2021 plans

Proteas speedster Dale Steyn left no space for speculation in 2021, starting off his new year with a series of announcements on his future in cricket. Steyn took to Twitter on January 2, 2021, to announce that he had made himself unavailable to his longtime IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore for the IPL 2021 edition, but clarified that he had in no way or form retired from cricket. In a second tweet, he added that he had taken the step in order to allow himself some extra time to concentrate on other leagues and activities and reiterated that had in fact 'not retired'.

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Roger Federer ATP ranking

Despite having played just one official ATP tournament in 2020, Roger Federer is all set to enter the new year as the World No. 5. This comes as a result of some clever thinking from Federer, who made great use of the new rules instituted by the ATP for players who did not wish to play due to the ongoing pandemic. Under the new rules, players can retain their points from the tournaments they played last year. This has worked out very well for Federer who would have otherwise fallen quite steeply in the rankings after he underwent knee surgeries last year. 

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Image Credits: AP