IPL 2021: 3 teams that can pick Steve Smith in the auction

Last year, the Rajasthan Royals had a poor IPL season. Although they had a brilliant start to the season, as they won two consecutive games, they witnessed a downfall as their important players failed to capitalize. As they finished at the bottom half of the table, the management has decided to make some changes in their squad.

For most of the season, they failed to capitalize during the critical stages of matches. Therefore, their decision to hand the captaincy to Sanju Samson seems quite logical. The Indian wicket-keeper batsman has the potential to thrive under pressure and the role of captaincy might augur well for him.

Another reason Rajasthan failed to win consistently was the failure of Steve Smith. When Smith timed the ball to perfection, he scored runs for fun, and Rajasthan went over the victory line. But when Smith failed, there was a collapse and his teammates failed to revive the inning.

It looks like the Rajasthan management is looking for a complete T20 batsman, one who can tee-off against any bowling attack. However, Smith, being one of the biggest names in world cricket, might be valuable to some teams.

Here are three IPL teams that can pick Steve Smith in the auction:

1. Chennai Super Kings

The Chennai-based franchise had a horrible IPL season in 2020. They failed to make it to the playoffs and as a result of this, many critics questioned the role of ever-aging veterans in their squad. While MS Dhoni was facing difficulty in managing a spin-dependent squad, his poor form never helped the team’s cause.

Apart from that, their batsmen had little (or no) intention during a run chase. As Shane Watson was their opener during three seasons, there is an empty slot for an overseas player. Currently, if the management wants, it can use Curran as the opener along with Faf du Plessis.

A returning Raina means that their batting order is coming back into shape. Adding on, they can use Smith as a top-order batsman to stabilize their batting unit. If we break the team’s approach during a run chase, excluding the final three games, CSK were defeated because of the apparent ‘lack-of-intent’ shown by the senior members.

Smith is a world-class batsman who needs no introduction. With an IPL century to his name, he can play the role of an anchor and the rest of the batsmen can look to slog during the vital phases of the game. Therefore, Smith can be a valuable addition to the CSK squad.