IPL News: Steve Smith replaces Ajinkya Rahane as Rajasthan Royals captain

What's the story?

After having a disastrous start to IPL 2019, RR have decided to replace Ajinkya Rahane as their skipper. Australian star Steve Smith has been chosen as Rahane's successor.

Under Rahane's captaincy, RR could only register 2 wins in 8 matches, with the majority of their losses coming due to some questionable tactics of their captain.

In case you didn't know...

As Steve Smith was barred from participating in the previous edition of the IPL, Ajinkya Rahane was handed over the reins of the franchise. Rahane did a commendable job and took to RR to the playoffs.

However, this year the team has failed to garner any momentum and has thrown away matches after dominating in the first half. Ajinkya Rahane himself has looked out of touch this year as he has only 201 runs under his belt in 8 matches.

The heart of the matter

It seems that the RR team management has tremendous faith in Steve Smith and it has played a remarkable role in this sudden captaincy change.

Smith too has looked rusty in this year's IPL with 186 runs in 7 matches. He was even dropped from the playing XI but surprisingly the team officials have decided to assign him the captaincy duties midway through the season.

However, Smith had been extremely successful while leading the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant franchise in IPL 2017. Smith's smart decisions powered the Pune franchise to their first ever IPL final.

Looking at the position where RR are placed right now, it will be extremely difficult for the new captain to rejuvenate the unit. Also, the fact that a few overseas players will leave the tourney soon just adds to RR's woes.

What's next?

RR will play their next league match against Mumbai Indians where Steve Smith will captain for the first time this season.

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