And, finally, Steve Smith set to return to the Indian Premier League. He waited for one long year to return to the lucrative tournament while it took quite a few years for him to don Rajasthan Royals jersey once again. Meanwhile, the opposition skipper of Smith for the first match, Ravichandran Ashwin makes his voice on Australian’s return.
Smith and Warner were banned for their roles in last year’s Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. Now, they are eligible for selection again on March 29. It means that they can be called up for the fourth ODI against Pakistan. But, that wasn’t the case, as Cricket Australia thought otherwise. However, they returned to their IPL teams.
Steve Smith is a quality player – Ravichandran Ashwin
The off-spinner of India, Ravichandran Ashwin quoted that it is nice to see Steve Smith making his return to the game. He is sure that Smith would have worked on his basics right before returning to the game.
Further, he also believes that Steve Smith would be eager to get in the middle and perform for his side. However, Ashwin wants to get better of Smith’s rustiness with the bat.
“We all know he is a quality player and must have worked and prepared hard during the break but comebacks are not easy. He must have put a lot of efforts for a comeback mentally. I am sure he would look to perform and on the other hand, we would look to take advantage of his rustiness,” said Ashwin to the reporters.
As Ashwin said, there are both pros and cons for Rajasthan Royals from Steve Smith. Either he would be a successful player for the team or else, he might end up taking a few games to get into his zone.
The match between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab will be played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rajasthan. Steve Smith will be helping Ajinkya Rahane in leading the side. In between, the other Australian David Warner started his knock with a bang.