Steyn ruled out of IPL after brief stint

The Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a major blow on Thursday after their new arrival Dale Steyn was ruled out of the rest of the season due to an inflamed shoulder.

"Dale Steyn has been prescribed ample rest due to inflammation in his shoulder. On account of the state of his health, Dale will not be available to take part further in the ongoing season of IPL," said Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman of RCB, in a statement.

"His presence has helped the team immensely and we are very thankful for the inspiration and passion that he brought to the squad. The team will deeply miss his energy and presence around. We wish him a speedy recovery and all the luck for all future endeavours.”

South African pacer Steyn joined the Royal Challengers last week as a replacement for Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile. The 35-year-old played just two games but made an instant impact, leading the beleaguered attack brilliantly.

Pacers Navdeep Saini and Umesh Yadav, who had looked clueless for the most part, started to bowl with purpose and energy. Spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali, speaking to the media on Tuesday, spoke highly of Steyn's arrival.

"He's been massive. We weren't taking wickets in powerplays and since he's come, we've been taking wickets in powerplays, which win you games. You take 2, 3, 4 wickets...most of the time you're going to win the game. I think just the name of Dale Steyn as well, he's not played much in the last couple of years but he still has class."

The Royal Challengers, who still have three league games left and need to win all of them to entertain hopes of advancing to the play-offs, will certainly miss Steyn. With Moeen Ali having just played his last game and Marcus Stoinis set to depart soon, the Royal Challengers' will be hoping their bench strength fills the huge void.