IPL 2019: Steve Smith hungry as ever, says Shane Warne

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting on March 23 and only a week to go, some big stars have already made their way to India for the lucrative league and one such star who has been out of action for a long time is Steven Smith of the Royals. Steve Smith landed in Jaipur on Sunday to join his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.

With an eye on grabbing a spot in the national team for the World Cup, Steve Smith is expected to perform really well as “he is hungry than ever”, according to Shane Warne. Smith didn’t play the IPL’s previous edition due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal and Warne feels that Smith will be trying his heart out in the event.

“He (Smith) will be so excited to turn up and play cricket. That’s what he loves doing and that’s what he is very very good at. Smith and Warner are two of the best players in world cricket, I think Smith will be giving a lot and integrate with the team,” Warne was quoted as saying to the media during a chat.

Smith and Warner’s one-year international ban for their involvement in ball tampering scandal in South Africa last year soon ends. And the two of them on the invitation of coach Justin Langer spent some time with the Australian team, from whom they were separated for quite some time as a result of the ban.

With Ashton Turner unavailable for first three games for Royals due to international commitment against Pakistan, Smith along with Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer will be the major overseas players for the Royals.

“Having Smith’s experience around and his hunger and passion as the only cricket that is before World Cup will be a big thing for him. I have no doubt that Smith and Warner will get back to their best as they were before,” Warne said.

 According to Warne, this year, the Royals have put together one of the strongest squads

“I think when you look back to Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, they have generally been the underdogs. They haven’t always spent much money buying players. We haven’t generally had the big international or big Indian players. But I think, this year, this is the strongest squad that Royals have put together,” Warne mentioned.

“They have spent a lot of money on some big Indian players, when you look at the squad — Rahul Tripathi, Jos Butler, Sanju Samson. A lot of people are tipping Royals to win it and I think they are one of the favourites this year,” Warne said.

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~Written by Tony Sam

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