On Friday, IPL franchises have announced the list of players retained and released before the auction. Royal Challengers Banglore have released the most number of Players. Mumbai Indians have released 10 players and retained the 15 members that have won the fourth title of IPL. Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders have offloaded 11 players each. The franchises have also released the names of their captains.
Steve Smith is again given the responsibility of captaincy of Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2020. In 2014, 2015 and 2019, he was part of Rajasthan Royals and mostly head the team in the IPL. The Australian cricketer has opined that it’s an honour for him to lead the team.
“It’s an honour to be named the Rajasthan Royals captain for the 2020 season,” Smith told RR’s official website.
“It’s been a pleasure leading the Royals in previous years and I can’t wait to play alongside this extremely talented squad, plus those we pick up in the auction!”
Jofra Archer with Steve Smith
After the ban of one-year completed, Steve Smith has returned to the game this year. He made a strong comeback and led the team front in Ashes 2019. He was the highest scorer in that five-match Test series against England. Steve Smith will play with England candidates Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the IPL 2020. He is ready to play with these three players to win the trophy in next edition.
“After a summer of some of the toughest cricket I can remember against the England boys in the World Cup and the Ashes I’m looking forward to having three of them on my team this time around,” he said
‘Everyone knows that Ben, Jos and Jofra are three of the finest cricketers in the world so it is going to be a fantastic tournament teaming up with them.”