Dale Steyn, whose deliveries sent chills down the spines of the best batters in the world, has found himself in a unique outrage online. The beloved South African pacer is facing the wrath of irked Indian fans who think that Steyn, on a rare occasion, may have missed the mark while delivering his take on India’s decision to continue batting in the last hour of the fourth Test against England. For the unversed, India rejected the early draw “handshake” offered by Ben Stokes and co., which Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, both inching towards their respective Test centuries, politely declined. The visiting side was well within its rights to continue batting, while the hosts, England, have been bashed by the cricketing fraternity for trying to dictate and impose their wishes at Old Trafford in Manchester. India eventually called it a day when Sundar reached the three-figure landmark moments after Jadeja notched up his ton. Tabraiz Shamsi In Support South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi joined the majority that backed India’s decision to stay on the crease against England and wondered why there was so much noise around the entire incident. “Why is there such a big deal being made about the Indians choosing not to accept the offer to end the game in a draw immediately? The offer was made..the offer was rejected n they were fully entitled to make their choice. They got their 100s which they worked hard for. Game over,” Shamsi expressed his views on X. Dale Steyn Appears In response to Shamsi’s post, Steyn clarified that the situation had more nuances, emphasising that the objective was a draw, not for Indian batters to aim for their centuries. “Shamo (Shamsi) this onion has many layers to it, and each one will make someone cry. The only issue I see here is the one thing people aren’t realizing, the batters weren’t playing for 100s, they were batting for a DRAW. That was the goal,” Steyn wrote in response on X. Calling it “free milestones”, Steyn added that even if Indian batters were within the rules to gun for their respective three-figure scores, he found it a bit odd that India did not accept the handshake, that, according to him, was the “gentlemanly” thing to do. “Draw the game. Once that was accomplished, and a result was out of the question a handshake was offered, that’s the gentlemanly thing to do right? It’s not then the time to realize they safe and now say no we’d prefer some free milestones… although within the rules, just seems a little, well, odd. That said, they did bat well, and maybe with the last hour approaching they should have been more aggressive in reaching those milestones, at least then, we could all agree, no team tried to out do the other in this weird situation.” Steyn, when questioned about his “free milestones” jibe, corrected himself and called it “personal milestones”. Damage Done Steyn, typically a favourite among Indian cricket fans, sparked their ire with his stance. His minority view, contrasted by global support, including from England’s former Test captain Sir Alastair Cook, for India’s decision to exercise their right, further frustrated the fanbase. “What’s a free milestone lol? They batted out 2 sessions with no proper batter to follow to save the game lol,” a fan wrote in response to Steyn’s post. “My bad, I meant personal milestones, nothing comes free, but you get what I meant,” Steyn wrote back. “How they want to pace their innings is upto them. They ensured the draw and when draw is secured they can play their innings as they want. I will go ahead and say they should have played all 15 overs, because they can. It’s an offer and there is no compulsion to accept it, (sic)” another fan questioned Steyn. The responses on former South African quickie refused to end when a few Internet sleuths pulled up a recent X post made by Steyn on Convenient Much? The desi cricket fans weren’t done just yet. They lambasted the former bowler over his take on his fellow countryman Wiaan Mulder, South Africa’s stand-in captain, who decided to declare on an unbeaten innings of 367* against Zimbabwe in a Test match. Only shy of 33 runs to conquer the elite list, Mulder decided to let West Indian legend Brian Lara lead the chart with his iconic 400* against England in 2004. when ?? wins, batting for personal milestones is an amazing achievement. When Indians grind it out under pressure and reach milestones, suddenly it’s odd & not gentlemanly? Dale Steyn’s cricket ethics change depending on the flag. The onion isn’t layered, it’s rotten. ? https://t.co/gTQWjECyXy pic.twitter.com/DF3U0vvKw7 — Cricket for her (@coverdrivetoher) July 29, 2025 Also Read: SA’s Wiaan Mulder Declares At 367* To ‘Protect’ Lara’s 400* But Cricket Fans Ain’t Buying It Commenting on Mulder’s controversial decision to forgo a potential world record on just the second day of the Test match between Zimbabwe and South Africa, Steyn wrote: “SA will win this Test with a day to spare, those few overs after lunch would never haunt them. 400 was a deserved. That said 367 is an amazing achievement. Congratulations Wessie!”