Twitter Reactions: Steve Smith steps down as Rajasthan Royals captain

The ball-tampering saga has absolutely ruined the near future of Steve Smith after he accepted that the leadership group was aware of the same. He stepped down from the captaincy of Australia with immediate effect in the middle of third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. The consequences of the incident are going to be even worse as Cricket Australia (CA) is investigating the matter. Meanwhile, he also resigned as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL) to avoid any further controversy.

Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera while scruffing the ball with a yellow coloured tape in order to gain an advantage. He panicked after his actions were displayed on the big screen and tried to hide the tape in his pants which was also caught by the cameraman only to send shockwaves throughout the cricketing world. However, Smith later cleared that it was planned and the so-called ‘leadership group’ knew about the same and the coach had no involvement in the planning.

Rahane to lead RR

While the resignation of Steve Smith was expected after the sequence of events that transpired after the ball-tampering saga, it is still not clear whether he will be able to play the IPL. The ICC has already suspended him for one Test match and have also fined 100 percent of his match fee. But the Australian cricket board is expected to take more strict actions on the players involved in the matter.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane was appointed as the skipper of Rajasthan Royals following the resignation from Smith and will have to settle the nerves of the squad first. Twitter was already hugely critical of the Australian team after their actions in Cape Town and welcomed Smith’s decision to step down. While some felt bad for the Aussie, many believed that he should be banned from playing in the IPL this year.

It remains to be seen what steps Cricket Australia take after which the things will become more clear about his participation in the IPL.

Here’s how Twitterati reacted:

Ajinkya Rahane is not T20 player. Smith had already admitted his mistake. Removing him as captain was not necessary.

— Rakesh Sahu?? (@Rakesh_Sahu59) March 26, 2018

Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy record:

In Twenty20 cricket:
Played – 4
Won – 1
Lost – 3 (Incl 1 IPL game)

In List A cricket:
Played – 4
Won – 3
Lost – 1#IPL2018 #RajasthanRoyals

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) March 26, 2018

Rajasthan Royals drop Steve Smith as captain , Ajinkya Rahane to lead.
Steve Smith is a repeat cheat ( remember "brainfade"? ) who is always ready with excuses , should be dropped totally. Fans or advertisers wont miss him. pic.twitter.com/1jjIzlBsHP

— kasturi shankar (@KasthuriShankar) March 26, 2018

Ajinkya rahane as a captain for Rajasthan royals.

We can't trust sand paper users cuz Rajasthan Is already drowned in sand.

Kbai

— Unjulie (@unjulieji) March 26, 2018

Forget Captaincy, Steve Smith should not be even part of Rajasthan Royals.

Once a Thug , Always a Thug !!

Congrats Ajinkya Rahane , well deserved.#AjinkyaRahane

— Boring… (@graphicalcomic) March 26, 2018

Power of Karma:-
2017:Great MS Dhoni removed as Captain from RPS and Steve Smith becomes Captain of RPS.
Karma Repeats,
2018:Steve Smith removed as RR Captain and Ajinkya Rahane becomes captain of RR.

— Dhanish kumar (@imdhanish) March 26, 2018

Harsh Goenka now must be so proud of #stevesmith .. sad that he doesn't have a team anymore #CSK #Dhoni #IPL. More like King of the cheating Jungle… pic.twitter.com/rEXqKvwRY4

— Version 2.0 (@Prakash2007) March 26, 2018

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