Steve Smith has a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders in the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having had a disappointing season with the bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020, Smith was released by the franchise. This year, he has not only got to redeem his reputation as a batting stalwart, apart from preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but also make up for Delhi Capitals’ regular skipper Shreyas Iyer’s absence. 

Also Read | IPL 2021: Steve Smith speaks in Hindi and names his favourite Indian dish

While Shikhar Dhawan was Delhi’s top-scorer, with 618 runs, Iyer was second in that list with 519 led the side by example, guiding them to their maiden final appearance. 

But Iyer’s shoulder injury leaves a big void of batting talent and leadership in the side. While Rishabh Pant has been appointed captain, Smith looks to be the perfect fit to take Iyer’s number three spot in the batting order. 

Although there are a few other contenders for that spot, Smith is an obvious no-brainer and his world-class quality will surely help the Capitals build on their run to the final last year. And apart from his batting, Smith’s vast experience in a leadership role at various IPL franchises as well as Australia in the past is something Pant can look forward to learning from.  

Also Read | Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin: Delhi Capitals players to watch out this IPL 2021

And if a player has a bad season and still scores 311 runs, including 3 fifties, from 14 innings at an average of 25.91 – like Smith did for the Royals last season – it says a lot about the player’s caliber. In all, he as scored 2,333 runs from 86 innings at an impressive average of 35.34 in his IPL career. 

Bought at just of Rs 2.2 crore, the Delhi Capitals might have just got the bargain of the season on their hands. But they will be hoping to get the Australian stalwart who has become one of the greatest batters of his generation, not the Test specialist who has often found it difficult to get going in the shortest format.  

#IPL2021 #SteveSmith #DelhiCapitals #ShreyasIyer #IndianPremierLeague #RishabhPant