A day after claiming that PSL was more rewarding for a player than IPL as money seemed to take the centre stage in the latter, South African fast bowler Dale Steyn took to Twitter to apologize for the remark.

"IPL has been nothing short of amazing in my career, as well as other players too. My words were never intended to be degrading, insulting, or comparing of any leagues. Social media and words out of context can often do that. My apologies if this has upset anyone. Much love," Dale Steyn's tweet read. The bowler was asked in an interview the reason for opting out of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. His response sparked a controversy. The cricketer said that emphasis was given on the amount of money the big squads and the players earned, and that cricket gets forgotten in IPL.

"I wanted some time off. I found that playing in these other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to IPL, there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on maybe the amount of money players earn and everything like that, so sometimes, somewhere down the line, cricket gets forgotten. When you come to like a PSL or the Sri Lankan Premier League, for that matter, there is an importance on the cricket," he stated.

IPL has been nothing short of amazing in my career, as well as other players too.

My words were never intended to be degrading, insulting, or comparing of any leagues.
Social media and words out of context can often do that.

My apologies if this has upset anyone.
Much love

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) March 3, 2021