Star Australian cricketer, Steve Smith will debut as a commentator in the Star Sports panel for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The 16th edition of the IPL begins on March 31 with the opening game against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
In a video shared by the veteran cricketer on social media, he announces his arrival for arguably the biggest T20 league in the world, Smith can be seen in a video saying that he is happy to join ‘an exceptional and passionate team in India’. Smith last played in IPL in the 2021 season.
“Steve Smith has joined the expert panel for the marquee tournament. Smith will be making his broadcast debut with Star Sports, adding his invaluable insights and expertise to Star Sports’ already impressive roster of panelists,” the broadcaster said in an official statement.
The 33-year-old last played an IPL match in the 2021 edition when he represented the DC’s side. He has played nine editions of the Indian T-20 league, and Smith has played 103 games and scored 2485 runs, including one ton in a total of 15 seasons of IPL. But he went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction and hence didn’t feature in the last edition.
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) March 27, 2023
Smith opted out of the IPL 2023 mini-auction held in December 2022. Before being a part of the Delhi Capitals in 2021, Smith had been a part of Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and now-defunct franchises Rising Pune Supergiant, Pune Warriors India, and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
Steve Smith’s fine season in Australia Tour of India 2023:
Australian ace batter recently concluded Indian tour has been a memorable one so. He arrived in India last month and went on to lead Australia to victory in Indore Test and the ODI series. After Pat Cummins returned home due to family reasons, Smith was named as the stand-in skipper and he totally justified the decision.
Under him, Australia won the third Test to seal their place in the ICC World Test Championship final before drawing the fourth Test. In the ODIs, Australia was clearly the better side against India as they came from behind to win the three-match series.
After losing the first match by 5 wickets, the visitors thrashed the hosts by 10 wickets in the second ODI to draw level in the series. Last week, the Steve Smith-led side beat India by 21 runs in the third ODI to clinch the series. Smith will now be hoping that his stint in IPL also goes well.