IPL 2023 is set to begin on March 31 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad with the last year’s champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and 4 times champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to play the first game of the season i.e Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings ( GT vs CSK ).
In Indian Premier League 2023, Australia’s current stand-in captain, Steve Smith is set to make a comeback. He is set to make a comeback in IPL 2023 but there is a surprise.
Australia has recently finished the tour of India with an ODI series win. They won the three-match ODI series by 2-1 after being 0-1 down in the series after the first game. Steve Smith led the team very well after that loss, restricting India to a small total in the 2nd game and then defending the decent total in the third game on a slightly slowish track.
Many experts praised Steve Smith’s captaincy
Before that as well, Steve Smith led the team in the last two tests in the absence of a regular skipper Pat Cummins. Australia won the 3rd game inside two and a half days on a turning track. And they managed to draw the game at Ahmedabad. Although Australia lost the test series by 2-1, many experts praised the leadership of Steve Smith. Although, with the bat, Steve Smith didn’t perform up to his standard.
Steve Smith’s comeback in IPL 2023
Now, after the successful second half of the India tour, Steve Smith is set to make a comeback in IPL 2023. But the interesting part is he will not be a part of any franchise and will not play as a batter. He would rather be a part of an expert panel and will make his commentary debut in this lucrative tournament.
Steve Smith played his last game on October 02, 2021, against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He played his first game in the IPL for Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2012 which was also against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In that game, he scored 39 off 32 balls with 4 fours.
He then went on to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Rajasthan Royals (RR), Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), and his last stint is with Delhi Capitals (DC).
Smith went unsold in the auction
After Delhi Capitals released him from the squad, he went unsold in the IPL auction of 2022. But now, he is all set to be a part of the commentary panel and will make his commentary debut in India.
Smith said that the renowned batter has joined the knowledgeable panel for the prestigious competition while speaking to Star Sports in the run-up to the IPL 2023. The Australian temporary captain will make his commentary debut on the official IPL 2023 broadcast partner. Smith said- “I think I read the game pretty well so hopefully there will be some good insights for all the people watching IPL out there. I’m certainly excited about joining the Star Sports Team and I’m looking forward to this new experience,” Smith said about his new role ahead of the IPL 2023 opener.”
Although Steve Smith is one of the best batters in world cricket, he is not that successful as a batter in the T20 format. But in IPL, his numbers are decent enough as a batter.
Let’s have a look at Steve Smith IPL stats:-
In the IPL, he has played 103 games and scored 2485 runs at an average of 34.51 and at a healthy strike rate of 128.09. He scored 11 fifties and a hundred which was against Gujarat Lions (GL) in 2016. Steve Smith scored 101 in that game but unfortunately, his team lost the game by 3 wickets.
He also captained the RPS team in the 2017 IPL season and the team went on to play the final. But his team lost the final by a small margin of just one run against Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians.
Now, he is going to start a new thing and commentary is the thing that will keep him in touch with this league as of now. Let’s see how he does with his commentary stint with Star Sports.
What do you think? Will he impress with his voice just like he always does with his bat and in the field? Comment your opinion below.
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