Steve Smith has been dropped from the Rajasthan Royals squad for the 2021 IPL T20. The Rajasthan administration today announced the appointment of Sanju Samson as captain in his place.
Rajasthan Royals management has retained 17 players and released 8 players. Notable among them is Steve Smith.
Smith could have been the best captain for the Australian team. But, the Rajasthan team never had. He struggled hard in the last IPL series but failed to reach the play-off round.
Smith, who has scored only 2 half-centuries individually, has scored only 311 runs in the series, missing out on a single digit in all other matches. Smith’s strike rate has dropped to 131 and an average of 25 in the last IPL.
During the 2018 series, Smith did not give a big hand to the Rajasthan team, which was bought for Rs 12.5 crore. Smith did not play in the 2018 season due to a controversy that damaged the ball. The Rajasthan team, which played somewhat better under Rahane’s captaincy, advanced to the play-offs in 2018.
But, as soon as Smith arrived, Rahane was removed and Smith was re-appointed captain. Former champions Rajasthan Royals have reached the play-offs only in 2013, 2015 and 2018.
However, Smith was released in the 2021 IPL auction as his performance as captain and batsman has not been satisfactory in the last two series.
Jobra Archer, who took 20 wickets with lightning fast bowling in the last IPL series, has been retained along with match-winner Ben Stokes and Butler. Ant Roe and David Miller also remain on the team.
Sanju Samson, the new captain, said: “I am really honored. The Rajasthan team is very close to me. I have been playing consistently for the last few years. I hope I can tackle the challenges ahead of me effectively. The experience of playing with the best players like Rahul Dravid, Rahane and Smith will give me a hand. ”
Details of players retained in the Rajasthan team
Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jobra Archer, Jose Butler, Ryan Barak, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Divesia, Mahibal Lomrar, Karthik Tiyagi, Andrew Dye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yahsvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Devi .
Released soldiers
Steve Smith, Ankit Rajput, Osne Thomas, Akash Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Karan, Anirudh Joshi, Sasang Singh.