Rajasthan Royals to have Steve Smith for IPL 2019

The Rajasthan Royals franchise has made it clear that Steve Smith will be a part of the side from next IPL.

The Australian Cricketer, Steve Smith has been banned after admitting his involvement in ball tampering. The incident happened during the third day of the third test match against South Africa. Steve Smith, David Warner, and batsman Cameron Bancroft were found guilty. Cricket Australia handed a one year ban to Smith and Warner while a nine months ban was given to Bancroft.

Smith and Warner were then banned from playing in the IPL as well, with both Sunrisers and Royals forced to look for new captains and new players.

However, the cricket head of Rajasthan Royals, Zubin Bharucha, told TOI that Steve Smith will be a part of the team in the next year’s IPL.

Smith has been also banned from any leadership role for 2 years but it only exists for International matches and cricket in Australia. So Smith might be seen leading the side in the 12th edition of IPL.

Recently, Rajasthan Royals has named Heinrich Klaasen as a replacement for Smith in the upcoming IPL season. The South African Wicket-Keeper, Klaasen plays spin really well and he was the only one to pick Indian wrist spinners in the last series against India.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports if Sunrises Hyderabad will continue with David Warner in the next IPL or not. Till now, Warner has been very impressive for Sunrises Hyderabad. The franchise also won the title under his captaincy. He also won the orange cap in the last edition of IPL. Warner is also set to play the next IPL as he is also banned for the same period as Smith.