Cricket
Steve Smith's poor run in IPL 2020 had resulted in RR releasing Smith ahead of IPL 2021 and naming Sanju Samson as their skipper.
Updated : Feb 24, 2021, 01:03 PM IST | Edited by : Karen Noronha
In the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, Australian batsman Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals (RR), was purchased by Delhi Capitals (DC) for a mere price of INR 2.2 crores.
The 31-year-old had a poor run in IPL 2020 in the UAE as he scored just 311 runs in 14 games at an average of 25.91 and strike rate of 131.22. This resulted in RR releasing Smith ahead of IPL 2021 and naming Sanju Samson as their skipper.
So after being purchased by DC, on February 23, the franchise posted a video on their official Instagram handle where Smith expressed his excitement. In the short clip, the right-hander also hoped of taking the franchise to greater heights in the upcoming edition.
"I am really excited about joining the team this year. I think it is a great squad of players, a great coach, and I am looking forward to getting there and creating some amazing memories. Hopefully will help the team go one better than last year," Steve Smith said in the video uploaded by DC.
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While the chances of Smith getting a chance to play in all the games for DC are slim as the team led by Shreyas Iyer have their three overseas slots full in the form of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and pacers Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.
In addition, there is a tough fight for the fourth overseas place in the Playing XI while having contenders like Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran, and Sam Billings. He can surely get a place if openers Prithvi Shaw or Shikhar Dhawan fail to perform.