Rajasthan Royals have sacked Ajinkya Rahane and will now be captained by Australian batsman Steve Smith for the remainder of the team's Indian Premier League matches this season.
Ajinkya Rahane led Rajasthan Royals to the playoffs in 2018 but the team is now languishing in the seventh spot with four points from eight matches.
Rajasthan Royals now thinks a fresh approach is needed to bring their 2019 campaign back on track. The Royals are playing Mumbai Indians in Jaipur on Saturday.
Steve Smith has always been part of the leadership team within RR and Rahane will continue to be a key voice in the side, therefore the Royals see this as a small restructuring process to secure the results required to move up the table.
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Smith had also enjoyed captaincy stint with Rising Pune Super Giants in 2017, where they emerged as the runners-up of the tournament.
Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket for Rajasthan Royals, said, ‘Ajinkya is and will always be a true Royal. He led the team to the play offs in 2018 in a very challenging scenario and that will go down as one of the great comebacks of the IPL. He remains a key part of our side and leadership team and will extend support wherever required to Steve.”
“Steve is one of the most innovative and successful captains in the world, in all formats of the game. We are confident he can lead the Royals to success.” added Bharucha.
