Dale Steyn believes the trend of celebrating handwritten notes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) may have taken off after LSG’s Akash Singh pulled out another message during his team’s IPL 2026 match against CSK on Friday.That moment came during the Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings match at the Ekana Stadium.In his first match of the season, Akash made an immediate impact by removing CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanja Samson and Urvil Patel to put Chennai under pressure early in the innings.After dismissing Gaikwad, the left-arm walker celebrated by pulling a folded ticket from his pocket. The report on the paper read: “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in T20”.The trend of celebrating notes first became popular last season when Abhishek Sharma showed a handwritten message for fans during a match for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Since then, several players have taken advantage of similar celebrations.Earlier this season, Raghu Sharma used the same style of celebration while Urvil Patel dedicated a note to his father after the performance.However, Steyn seems unfazed by the trend. Posting on X after Akash’s celebration, the former South African pacer hinted that the idea had lost its appeal.“Time to hang up the papers. It’s not trendy anymore. In fact, to be honest, it never really was,” Steyn wrote on X.
Do you think handwritten note celebrations in IPL are still relevant?
Interestingly, even LSG head coach Justin Langer said he was unaware of Akash’s plan. Langer was asked about the celebration by commentators during the broadcast and the Australian admitted he had no prior knowledge of it, while joking that team management might have to look into the matter.Akash later clarified that there was no deeper reason behind the celebration.“It just gives me motivation. There is no reason behind it. Whatever motivates me during the game, I will support it,” said Akash.
