Big News! Rajasthan Royals appoint Steve Smith as captain for remainder of the 2019 IPL season
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have sacked Ajinkya Rahane as the captain of the team in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). RR have announced that former Australian skipper Steve Smith will lead the side for the remainder of the season. Rahane’s removal as the captain doesn’t come as a surprise as RR have struggled to get going under his leadership. But the choice of Smith as the skipper is controversial after he was banned from captaining the international side for one year after ball-tampering ban.
The Royals have lost 6 out of 8 matches in the IPL so far and their place in the IPL playoffs is under major jeopardy. They are going to face Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in the early start on Saturday. But almost an hour ahead of the match, RR made the big announcement of Smith replacing Rahane as the captain of the side.
The RR management has said that they wanted Smith to lead the side as they were aiming to get their campaign back on track and take a “fresh approach” to the season.
“Ajinkya is and will always be a true Royal. He led the team to the playoffs in 2018 in a very challenging scenario and that will go down as one of the great comebacks of the IPL. He remains a key part of our side and leadership team and will extend support wherever required to Steve,” Head of Cricket for Rajasthan Royals, Zubin Bharucha said.
“Steve is one of the most innovative and successful captains in the world, in all formats of the game. We are confident he can lead the Royals to success,” added Bharucha.
It could also mean that RR are also looking to drop Rahane from the side as he has struggled to get going in the league so far. It is also interesting to note that Smith was dropped from RR’s last match against Kings XI Punjab.
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