In a shocking move by the Rajasthan Royals franchise, it released its star player and skipper Steve Smith from the next season of the Indian Premier League. Ahead of IPL 2021, the deadline for player retentions is January 21 and the trading window closes on February 4. Till 6 pm in the evening, every franchise of the IPL team will be releasing its list of retained and released players.
While the full list has not been revealed yet, the Rajasthan Royals franchise has confirmed that it has release, Steve Smith. Interestingly, Steve is among the biggest players of the Rajasthan Royals who also captained the team.
Going by the reports of ESPN Cricinfo, Manoj Badale, RR's co-owner, confirms that Samson will take over from Smith as the franchise's captain. He also says that they've appointed Kumar Sangakkara as their team director. Badale said, "Sanju is at the start of his journey as a leader - and Kumar Sangakkara is joining as a director of cricket. He's understated and is a very, very strong individual. [Being a] Wicketkeeper is a great position to captain the team."
Now, Smith might be the biggest pick for the various franchise as many teams will want the former Australian skipper in their team. Most probably RCB is in a strong position to buy the Steve Smith.