All set to make his much-awaited return to Indian Premier League, Steve Smith has lavished praise on his Rajasthan Royals teammate Jos Buttler. Smith hailed Buttler as one of the most destructive batsmen around the world as he expressed his excitement over playing alongside the England star. Smith had missed the last edition of the IPL in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
After Cricket Australia had banned Smith and David Warner for a year, BCCI had also followed suit by not allowing the duo to play in the IPL. They had later played in the inaugural Global T20 Canada, Caribbean Premier League as well the Bangladesh Premier League. The 12-month ban will end on 28th of this month, thus making the duo eligible for international cricket as well as first-class cricket.
Buttler, meanwhile, will be looking to make the most his current form and impress in the IPL once again. He is coming to India after an impressive tour of Caribbeans where he scored a 77-ball 150 in one of the ODIs. Buttler had started the last IPL on a poor note. However, his fortunes changed once he got promoted as an opener. He slammed five consecutive fifties including two unbeaten 90s.
In those five innings, he has amassed 389 runs in 236 balls at a conventional strike rate of 164.83. It was Buttler’s form which revived Royals’ fortunes in the tournament and they manage to make it to the playoffs after a slow start.
“Playing alongside Buttler will be great, batting with him makes things easier for me. He’s an exciting player and one of the most destructive batters around the world. I’m really excited to play with him,” Steve Smith said during a live interaction on franchise’s social media platform on Monday.
He further said he is hopeful of good support from the Jaipur crowd.
“The Rajasthan Royals are a great franchise… Great people and hopefully we have a great year,” Smith said.
“It will be great – never got the chance to play in Jaipur with the Royals… I am sure the fans will come out in big numbers and support us,” he added.
The picture you all have been waiting to see for so long! @stevesmith49 is back ?
On a scale of 1 – #HallaBol, how excited are we Royals? pic.twitter.com/B7LtNcjI3x
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 17, 2019
The Royals will kickstart their campaign against Kings XI Punjab on March 25.