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Steve Smith Steps Down as Rajasthan Royals Skipper, Ajinkya Rahane Replaces Him

Ajinkya Rahane (Getty)

New Delhi, Mar 26: Steve Smith, the disgraced Australian team captain, has stepped down as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals outfit in Indian Premier League (IPL). Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane will replace him as the skipper.

Smith and his deputy David Warner stepped down from the post of captain and vice-captain respectively after the former admitted that the incident of ball-tempering during the third test against South Africa occurred at the behest of the “leadership group”.

The International Cricket Council handed him a one-match suspension as a penalty for the grave breach of ethics, an action, experts say, was not proportional to the gravity of the offence. Smith would also lose hundred percent match fee.

The incident occurred on day 3 of the third Test match when Smith’s teammate Bancroft was captured on camera rubbing the ball with a yellow article. When the umpires asked him, he showed his empty pockets. The camera further showed the player keeping the yellow article in his trousers. Later in the day, both Smith and Bancroft admitted to the charges of ball tampering. Smith said the leadership group was aware of the decision to tamper with the ball.

Smith and Warner later stepped down from their posts. “Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner, they have agreed to stand down as Captain and Vice-Captain respectively for the remainder of this Test match,” Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said in an official statement.

The statement further read, “This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim, we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine was made the interim captain.
Meanwhile, several noted cricketers have disapproved ICC’s soft action against Smith.

“A little birdie tells me that the weak ICC punishment isn’t anywhere near what Cricket Australia is thinking…..” Kevin Pietersen tweeted.
“wow @ICC wow. Great treatment nd FairPlay. No ban for Bancroft with all the evidences whereas 6 of us were banned for excessive appealing in South Africa 2001 without any evidence and Remember Sydney 2008? Not found guilty and banned for 3 matches.different people different rules,” Harbhajan Singh wrote on Twitter.