Rajasthan Royals (RR) have appointed Steven Smith as their captain for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Smith led the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the IPL last year and the side finished runners-up.
The Australian skipper was appointed the RR skipper in middle of the 2015 season, the last time the Royals participated in the tournament. He replaced Shane Watson halfway through the tournament. Smith had also stepped in as stand-in skipper for Sourav Ganguly in the 2012 edition for Pune Warriors India. RR unveiled their skipper LIVE on the TV channel Star Sports.
The 'Royal Reveal' is done and it's @stevesmith49 who'll helm matters for @rajasthanroyals this #VIVOIPL season! #RR fans, what do you have to say about your new prince? pic.twitter.com/iPkA0C0fQw
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 24, 2018
Smith’s leadership skills have been widely praised since his younger days and therefore the 28-year-old was the number 1 contender for the position.
Earlier, RR mentor Shane Warne had implied that alongside Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler were also contenders for captaincy. It was under Warne, the Royals lifted the inaugural IPL trophy in 2008.
Royals will open their IPL 2018 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 9 in Hyderabad.
Rajasthan Royals squad:
Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Jofra Archer, Stuart Binny, Aryaman Birla, Dushmanta Chameera, Prashant Chopra, Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Sudhesan Midhun, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Jatin Saxena, D’Arcy Short, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Jaydev Unadkat, Zahir Khan.
