Australia batsman Steve Smith is back in his captaincy role as Rajasthan Royals have given him the leadership duty for rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.
Till now, India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was leading the team, but unfortunately, he couldn't produce good results in this season as the team is placed on the second last position with only two victories out of eight matches.
Smith (29) just completed his year-long ban last month and found a spot in the Australia squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which was announced on April 15.
As far as IPL is concerned, Smith, who was leading the Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, rallied his troop to the IPL final but could not win as Mumbai Indians won the title.
"Ajinkya is and will always be a true Royal. He led the team to the playoffs in 2018 in a very challenging scenario and that will go down as one of the great comebacks of the IPL. He remains a key part of our side and leadership team and will extend support wherever required to Steve," said Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket for Rajasthan Royals.
"Steve is one of the most innovative and successful captains in the world, in all formats of the game. We are confident he can lead the Royals to success," Bharucha added.
Smith-led Rajasthan Royals will take on Mumbai Indians at Sawai Mansingh Stadium today.
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