A day after David Warner announced his comeback in style, it will be Steve Smith’s turn on Monday as Rajasthan Royals take on Kings XI Punjab in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.
The Royals, led by Ajinkya Rahane, will open their campaign at their home ground - the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
After serving out a one-year ban from international cricket, along with compatriot and Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Warner, for involvement in the infamous ball-tampering row, Smith will be eyeing a quick return to form. The ban was limited to state and international fixtures only and not domestic or club cricket.
Smith was last seen in action in a couple of Bangladesh Premier League matches late last year before an elbow injury ruled him out of the tournament.
The IPL will be the actual start of the 29-year-old’s long road to redemption and he would be looking to make the most of the T20 tournament ahead of the ICC World Cup, starting on May 30 in England.
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Smith, though, is yet to recover fully from his elbow injury and may take a little time to get into the groove.
Royals aim for strong start
With Smith back in their ranks, the Royals have assembled a strong lineup of foreign players for this season. England’s Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer, along with Australians Ashton Turner and Smith, will be expected to contribute significantly.
The English players, though, will not be available after April 25 as per England and Wales Cricket Board’s diktat because of the World Cup. The Aussies, too, will most likely depart at some stage of the competition, and the Royals will be keen to win enough matches by then.
Rajasthan’s bowling department has reasonable depth, with speedster Jaidev Unadkat eyeing a slot in Indian team for the World Cup. Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ish Sodhi, Stokes and Archer give variety and options to the Royals for different conditions.
The Ravichandran Ashwin-led Punjab side will rely heavily on their openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul to provide them a blazing start. English all-rounder Sam Curran has been a good addition as well for Kings XI.
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Skipper Ashwin would be desperate to prove that he can still make a difference in this format. With Mohammed Shami, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Curran, Punjab’s bowling has plenty of variety.
The Punjab franchise also have a new face in their dugout with Mike Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, taking over from Brad Hodge. KXIP had a blistering start to the 2018 season but faded away in the second half to finish seventh.
Squads
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane [C], Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ashton Turner, Ish Sodhi, Oshane Thomas, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson, Shubham Ranjane, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Sudhesan Midhun, Jaydev Unadkat, Prashant Chopra, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Riyan Parag, Dhawal Kulkarni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Varun Aaron, Shashank Singh, Manan Vohra, Rahul Tripathi.
Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin [C], Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, Moises Henriques, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, Lokesh Rahul, Ankit Rajpoot, Mandeep Singh, Simran Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and David Miller.
Inputs from PTI
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