The paper-note celebration has now received its first high-profile pushback, and it has come from Dale Steyn. The former South African fast bowler took to X (formerly Twitter) after Lucknow Super Giants pacer Akash Singh became the latest IPL 2026 player to pull out a written note during a celebration. Steyn did not name Akash directly, but his post landed soon after the LSG seamer’s viral celebration against the Chennai Super Kings.
“Time to put the papers away. It ain’t trending no more. Actually, to be honest, never really was,” Steyn wrote on X.
The comment came after Akash displayed a paper note during his three-wicket spell against CSK. He finished with 3/26 in four overs and later said the note worked as a source of motivation for him. The message in the slip read: “Akki on fire - Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 game.” Notably, Akash’s celebration came on a night when LSG needed early control with the ball, and his spell supplied exactly that. The left-arm pacer struck through the CSK innings and turned a personal celebration into the match’s most replayed visual.
Paper celebration becomes IPL’s newest talking point
The celebration has become one of the most noticeable side-stories of the season. It started gaining attention after Abhishek Sharma pulled out a note during his IPL 2025 century for Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Punjab Kings. His message read: “This one is for Orange Army.”
{{/usCountry}}The celebration has become one of the most noticeable side-stories of the season. It started gaining attention after Abhishek Sharma pulled out a note during his IPL 2025 century for Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Punjab Kings. His message read: “This one is for Orange Army.”
{{/usCountry}}Since then, other havd used the paper-slip celebration in different emotional contexts. MI’s Raghu Sharma took out a note after claiming his maiden IPL wicket against LSG. He dismissed Akshan Raghuwanshi and celebrated by showing a written message from his pocket, turning his first wicket into a personal moment.
CSK batter Urvil Patel also joined the trend after his 13-ball half-century against LSG. His note read: “This is for you, Papa,” adding an emotional layer to the fastest fifty in IPL history.
Akash Singh then became the latest player to use the celebration, but Steyn’s post has now shifted the conversation from sentiment to fatigue. His line suggested the gesture has already lost whatever freshness it had, and perhaps never deserved the hype attached to it.
The reaction also adds a sharper edge to an IPL trend that had mostly been treated as harmless theatre. For some players, the notes have carried emotion, tribute or self-motivation. For Sten, the paper appears to have become excess packaging around the actual cricket.
His verdict was blunt enough: the wickets, runs and performances can stay. The slips of paper, in his view, can go back into the pocket.