Former South African gun fast bowler Dale Steyn has showered praise on Bhuvneshwar Kumar after Royal Challengers Bengaluru claimed a 23-run win against Punjab Kings at Dharamshala on Sunday. Steyn reckons if RCB goes on to defend their IPL crown, then Kumar would be their MVP of the season.

Kumar is currently the Purple Cap holder with 24 scalps in 13 matches at an average of 16.37 and an economy rate of 7.70.

The swing master returned with impressive figures of 2-38 in his quota of four overs against PBKS. The RCB’s pack leader got the big wickets of PBKS openers – Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya – to give an ideal start to his team when they were defending 223.

Dale Steyn said on AB de Villiers’ YouTube Channel, “When you look at the end of the season, this is the interesting part. He might not win the purple cap, but he’s going well. If RCB go on to win this championship, this IPL, they’ll look back, and they’ll say MVP, this guy, because all around what he does is pretty amazing. And I think every player wants to have this game; they want to go out there, take wickets, and then go out there and bang a six to win the game for your team. That’s special.

“He’s a proper cricket player, like he’s a really good cricket player, and I think he goes unseen a lot of the time because he’s got no frills about him. He’s got nothing special about him; he’s not big on social media, and he’s not pulling pieces of paper out of his pocket. He consistently lands the ball in the right area, doing just a little bit with the ball. He swings it this way, he swings it that way a little bit.

“He’s a master little skillman, but then you see him on the field, he doesn’t drop catches, he doesn’t fumble the ball, and then when he comes out with the bat, he’s a very smart man. Like he’s a good batter too, he’s not a big six hitter. He’s not your SKY kind of hit the ball all around the ground, he’s a lower-order all-rounder, and he read the game too, which tells you again that he’s a smart cricketer because he knew exactly where the ball was going to get bowled,” Steyn added.

With the win against PBKS, RCB were able to confirm their last four berth.