The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner and the buzz has already started among the fans. Meanwhile, Steve Smith is back at the helm of Rajasthan Royals and will be leading in a bid to secure their second coveted title. The legendary batsman is excited to be back at the Royals and lead the team in the upcoming season.

Smith has been an integral part of the Royals set up since his relationship with the cash-rich league. While Royals were out of action for a couple of years, Steve Smith plied his trade for the Rising Pune Supergiants before reuniting with Rajasthan once again. Meanwhile, the Aussie cricketer missed the 2018 season of the tournament owing to his ban for the ball-tampering scandal but once he returned. he has let his bat do the talking.

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Smith had a terrific outing in the last year with the Ashes series being the highlight of all. He took batting to whole new level knocking runs every time he came out to bat. He was also in good rhythm during the ODI series against India and will is now gearing up for the much-awaited IPL. Smith also looked happy with the squad which has some of the exciting young talents along with the legends of the game, who can turn things on any given day.

“Yeah look, it’s exciting to be back leading Royals. I have had a few opportunities to lead Royals throughout and I don’t think I have actually started a year as captain before, so I am excited about that,” Smith said. 

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“I think we have a really good squad, some quality Indian players, some terrific overseas players and I think we have got a good mix of experience and youth. I am looking forward to this year, hopefully, we can start well and build momentum throughout and hopefully be there, come finals time,” he added. 

Rajasthan Royals will begin their IPL campaign this year against last year’s finalists, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 02 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Rajasthan had a poor outing last season and finished seventh out of the eight teams.