As there are over two months left for another edition of the Indian Premier League, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have already declared former Australia captain Steve Smith as their captain for the upcoming season. Last season, Smith had led the team as well, replacing Ajinkya Rahane mid-season. However, this season he will lead the team from the beginning.
“I am looking forward to this year, hopefully, we can start well and build momentum throughout and hopefully be there in finals,” he said to Sportstar.
He further added, “It’s exciting to be back leading the Royals. I have had a few opportunities to lead the Royals throughout and I don’t think I have actually started a year as captain before so I am excited about that. I think we have a really good squad, some quality Indian players, some terrific overseas players and I think we have got a good mix of experience and youth. I am looking forward to this year, hopefully, we can start well and build momentum throughout and hopefully be there in finals.”
In the last season, Rajasthan Royals missed out on a playoffs berth by a whisker. However, they have a stronger side this season. They bought David Miller, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran and also got Rahul Tewatia and Mayank Markande from Delhi Capitals in exchange for Ajinkya Rahane. Along with them, they bought the players like Robin Uthappa and young star Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal has already proved his worth by now.
“I have heard some terrific things about young (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, we’ve got Robin Uthappa with some experience having played a lot in the IPL. Tom Curran who’s been smashing it in the big bash, I think David Miller has been a proven performer at the IPL, we’ve got Oshane Thomas back who played really well at the back end of last season. So yeah, I think we’ve got a good mix and hopefully, we can give the tournament a shake this year,” Steve Smith concluded.
