3 min readUpdated: Feb 22, 2026 02:19 PM IST
‘Which bowler would you pick to defend 10 runs in last over?’ was the question posed by AB de Villiers to Dale Steyn on his YouTube show that dropped over the weekend. Both legends seemed to agree on one name.
“Jasprit Bumrah.”
Steyn, one of the most feared bowlers, reckoned only two bowlers fit the bill. “If 10 runs to defend in last over, only two names jump to my mind right now. Either Malinga or Bumrah,” AB said in the informal interaction.
“My bowler would be Bumrah definitely as well,” AB would say. India and South Africa play the first of their Super8s at Ahmedabad.
When Steyn was asked who he would pick to rattle off 15 runs in an over to win a match, he picked AB himself. “Not to float your boat but I’m putting you in there..you’re the best in the world. The other day you played for Paarl. So even now if South Africa needed you and they needed 15 to win I’d say bring in de Villiers,” Steyn said.
AB however had an older Protea marked out for the role. A Zulu warrior from two decades ago in fact. “For finishing …for batting I’d throw in Lance Klusener in there as well. In his heyday even if they’d land yorkers, he would dig it out and just fly, one bounce four. And you would wonder how the hell did he get that out of a yorker,” AB gushed.
Steyn likened him to India’s ultimate finisher with two World cups. “Dhoni was the same. You miss a yorker to Dhoni, he can hit it out of the park. So Lance was the same…”
When AB quizzed Steyn on which player would he invest in if he got 1 million dollars that would make his 1 billion 2 billion in 5 years time, Steyn would say, “Probably this 14 year old. Suryavanshi. He’ll make us the richest person in the world,” he added.
AB said: “I just hope he’s got the guidance he needs.”
Onto serious real-life matters in cricket aside of the giggle hit cricket, when AB spoke of which Associates the pace great would back to graduate to the next level, Tests, Steyn was rather downbeat. “Associate nation to get to next level? I mean Test cricket is hard. The best in the world are struggling right now. England just got thumped by Australia, and England is a bloody bloody good cricket team. So if you look at Associate teams, if they are not playing 4-day cricket or first class cricket, how are they going to survive? So let’s not even talk about that. That’s a bridge too far.”
AB suggested a two tier format. “There needs to be two leagues. Promotion relegation system in place. Whoever is 9 or 10 drops down. Top two from down jump up.”
