Steven Smith will be back to action in the Indian Premier League after recovering from an elbow injury that he had suffered earlier this year during Bangladesh Premier League.
He also underwent surgery for the same and returned to nets a few days back.
The former Australian has landed in India for IPL 209, where he will be playing for Rajasthan Royals for the first time since 2015.
Before arriving here, he talked to Cricket.com.au and shared his feelings before arriving in the country.
“I love playing in India. The IPL’s a terrific tournament and the elbow is tracking really well,” he said.
“I’ve been batting for the last two weeks and (am) able to play all shots, got my power back, so I am tracking really well and I’m just excited to play again,” Smith added.
Smith was to lead Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018 after being retained by the franchise but the ban by Cricket Australia saw him missing the tournament.
This year, an elbow injury almost ruled him out of the tournament but he has recovered in time and is set to play the tournament.
In fact, there were reports that the franchise had also started looking for Smith’s replacement as he was not confirmed to play the league.
Just like in the case of Warner, it is not known whether he will play starting matches for his team or not.
The ban on Smith and Warner ends on March 28, 5 days after IPL 2019 starts.
He was in contention to be selected for the Australian team for the last two ODIs of the series against Pakistan, but Cricket Australia decided to make the two players play in IPL.
Smith will have to manage his workload during the tournament as he is yet to fully recover from the elbow issue.
He will also leave the tournament early along with Warner and other Australian players as they have been asked to return to the country before May 1.
The chances of Smith and Warner getting recalled to the national side are highly likely, which will see them miss a part of the league.
IPL 2019 kicks off on March 23 with Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
MS Dhoni-led side will go in as the defending champions in the tournament.