Smith's availability is a massive boost for the Royals ahead of the CSK clash as they will be without Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Australia's talismanic batsman Steve Smith will be available for Rajasthan Royals' (RR) upcoming IPL 2020 clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday (September 21) in Sharjah. Smith, who is the skipper of the Rajasthan side, had picked up a head injury during Australia's tour of England and did not feature in any of the matches in the limited-overs series as a result of that.
However, ahead of Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2020 opener, head coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed that Smith is ready and fit to captain the 'men in pink' against CSK.
"Fantastic news that Steve is available. It's fantastic especially on the back of some setbacks back in the UK. It is obviously great to have your skipper available for the first game, as I have said before we are in really good hands."
"In terms of the rest of the squad, we couldn't be happier with their preparation. We've got what we needed, having been here nice and early to get our preparation going on the back of the long lay-off," McDonald was quoted as saying in a Royals release.
Smith's availability is a massive boost for the Royals ahead of the CSK clash as they will be without Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Buttler will not play the match as he has brought his family with him and he will have to undergo the full quarantine of six days. Ben Stokes is attending to his father who is unwell in Christchurch and there are question marks over his ability.
Rajasthan Royals will be aiming to get their IPL 2020 off to a good start against Chennai Super Kings, who have started on the fight note with a five-wicket win against four-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Rajasthan finished seventh in IPL 2020 and they reached the Eliminator in IPL 2018 after being banned for two years due to spot-fixing.
Buttler and Stokes are part of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad for England and their experience will be sorely missed against a Chennai Super Kings side that are on top of their game.
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