Rating all captains of IPL 2020 in first two weeks

5. Steve Smith (Rajasthan Royals)- 7.5

Rajasthan Royals have been the side that had dominated the first ten days of the tournament. With Smith playing as an opener, he has made sure that the team gets off to a good start, a factor that other franchises have overlooked. During their opening encounter against CSK, Smith along with Sanju Samson gave the Chennai bowlers a nightmare which opened the doors of three consecutive losses.

The team boasts of a very strong side with big names like Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes(although he is yet to join the squad) along with captain Smith. He played a beautiful, well-crafted knock of 69(49). Apart from scoring vital runs, Smith has been managing his bowlers superbly, which was evident when he used Jofra Archer to attack a well-settled Shubman Gill during their encounter against KKR.

Taking about Smith, he took a brave decision of sending Rahul Tewatia up the order, and although he was not able to hit the ball, later, he went after Cottrell and eventually, Rajasthan won the game comfortably. But, in the very next game, against KKR, the Royals experienced a top-order failure that exposed their middle order to the unfavourable circumstances.

Talking about his captaincy against RCB, after another top-order failure, Rajasthan’s middle-order somehow managed to post a decent score but was unable to defend it. So, there are some serious issues which must be addressed by Smith. Due to a mediocre team selection and personal performance, Smith gets a rating of 7.5.