South African pacer Dale Steyn has revealed fascinating details of his time in Pakistan, where he represented Islamabad United in the fifth edition of HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Steyn, in a live chat on Instagram on Thursday, told former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen that he enjoyed playing in Pakistan despite spending most of his time in his hotel room.

"I got home from Pakistan almost two weeks ago.  It was really good and I actually enjoyed it [PSL] apart from the fact that we were under hotel arrest. We couldn’t really go out," Steyn said. "They [PCB] want to make sure that nothing happens and you don’t want to be the person that goes out and something happens and then all cricket stops in Pakistan."

"I didn’t really go anywhere. Just from my room to the spa and swimming pool. It was fine and it wasn’t an issue, so I am basically doing 6 weeks of quarantine right now," he added.

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The cold weather in Pakistan took Steyn by surprise as he hadn’t made adequate preparations for it.

"One thing I didn’t do before going to Pakistan was that I didn’t check the weather, and I have never been that cold. It was freezing there," he said. "I had to wear the Islamabad United hoodie for 90 percent of the time  there as I only took one jersey and one pair of long track pants along with me."

Steyn decided to return home early after the PCB provided an option to foreign players to withdraw from the HBL PSL 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The tournament was eventually postponed indefinitely after England batsman Alex Hales started experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus on his return to England.

"On Friday night, the overseas guys had a chat and they were thinking of talking to the PSL management. Then I was in a lobby when I got a message that they were having a meeting. It was decided right there that we were going home," he said. "Our managers asked us to start packing as we were about to leave in an hour from that meeting. So we were taken to airport the same night and flown out of the country. We had a game next day [in Pakistan] and I think I reached Johannesburg even before the start of that game."

"When I got home, I was a bit worried because I just left the country as you don’t want to leave like that because you were there to play cricket. But then this whole thing escalated so quickly that you realize that it wasn’t wrong to be on the plane and no one really cares that you left considering there is a bigger issue going on right now," he added.