South Africa's Lungi Ngidi (C) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Canada's Yuvraj Samra during the 2026 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup group stage match between South Africa and Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 9, 2026. Picture: Shammi Mehra/AFP
Image: hammi Mehra/AFP
He may have returned to South Africa for shoulder surgery, but Dale Steyn is still keeping a close eye on the Proteas at the T20 World Cup and he spoke glowingly about Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen.
South Africa produced an incredibly dominant display against India over the weekend, as they ran out 76-run victors in their Super Eights clash in Ahmedabad.
First, South Africa posted an imposing 187/7 after falling to 20/3 batting first, and then never allowed host India to get on track with their chase before bowling them out for 111.
Jansen returned the best figures with his 4/22, while Ngidi strangled the Indian attack with a miserly spell of 0/15 which was full of cunning and guile.
“There’s obviously plenty of fantastic bowlers at this WC, but talking slower balls specifically, I think the skills of Ngidi and Jansen, as a pair, are the best in the tournament,” said Steyn on X.
“Knuckles from Jansen. Slow dipper from Ngidi. Batters finding it tough to read one dude, and there’s another coming…
“That’s trouble for batters.”
Last week, Steyn left his commentary post at the tournament to attend to his troublesome shoulder.
The 42-year-old has been a revelation in the commentary booth at this tournament, most notably during South Africa’s infamous encounter with Afghanistan, which required two Super Overs.
Steyn did not hold back during that stint, and it was reminiscent of his playing days when he was the star on the field.