Dale Steyn says criticism on his fitness is 'absolute rubbish'

South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn has expressed his disappointment for being repeatedly written off as on the verge of retirement, saying he is still one of the fittest players in the squad.

Steyn had been receiving criticism on his fitness since he was ruled out of the ongoing England series due to shoulder injury that he sustained during the opening Test in Durban.

Describing the criticism as 'absolute rubbish', the 32-year-old said that he had played 48 Tests in a row, insisting that the injuries could happen to anyone. Steyn also expressed his desire to play 100 Tests for his side and to bring them back to the position where they used to be, Sport24 reported.

Steyn said that he once again wanted to lead his side as one of the senior players and wanted to win as many matches as he could for South Africa. Earlier, South Africa's dip in form continued as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat in the third Test in Johannesburg to give England a series win and thereby losing the number one Test ranking to India.

The AB de Villiers-led side, which had earlier suffered a humiliating defeat in the Test series against India, will now play their final match against England in Centurion from Friday.