IPL 2021: Ricky Ponting Reveals Steve Smith’s Batting Position In Delhi Capitals Playing 11
Steve Smith IPL 2021 Batting Position: With a newly appointed skipper in Rishabh Pant, this is surely going to be a massive season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals (DC). Earlier, the regular skipper Shreyas Iyer who captained Delhi towards the final of IPL 2021, was ruled out of the entire tournament this year due to a shoulder injury. After qualifying for the playoffs in two successive seasons, captain Rishabh Pant has a challenging task to take up as he will be leading some senior players in the Delhi Capitals line-up like Steve Smith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane.
Steve Smith IPL 2021 batting position
The Delhi Capitals will kickstart their IPL 2021 campaign against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 10 in Mumbai. With the pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje not available for the first game, Delhi team management will face an uphill task to pick their four overseas players in the starting XI. However, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed that their newest recruit Steve Smith will bat in the top three when given an opportunity.
“I think the fact that he’s been released from the franchise that he’s been at for a long time will make him a bit hungry as well this year,” said Ricky Ponting as quoted by cricket.com.au.
“So, if he gets an opportunity with us — I think it will be in the top three somewhere — if he gets an opportunity, I’m sure he’ll have a great year for us,” he added.
Smith was the released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the 2021 IPL auction after the former skipper scored 311 runs in 14 matches and most importantly, under his leadership, the team finished with a wooden spoon last year. Delhi bought Steve Smith at a steal price of INR 2.2 crores. Ponting didn’t provide any clarity on Smith straightaway featuring in the playing XI but he stated that his inclusion in the squad is a great thing due to his experience and knowledge of the shortest format of the game.
“Obviously the other side of that is there’s a big auction again next year, so if he happens to have a really good IPL this year, then I’m sure that that price is going to go up for the coming season. (It’s) great to have him as a part of our squad. As I said — even if he doesn’t play, for instance, to have someone like that around with his sort of knowledge on the game and the T20 game, will be great for our group. I can’t wait to work with him again,” the Delhi Capitals head coach concluded.
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