Soon after all eight franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) submitted there a list of retained and released players, one of the moves which raised a few eyebrows was Rajasthan Royals (RR) releasing skipper Steve Smith ahead of the IPL mini-auction.
Moreover, the inaugural champions also decided to promote youngster Sanju Samson as the skipper of the team. The move became a talking point as Samson is yet to prove himself as a batsman in the international circuit.
After the lists were released, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected show, made a big revelation by saying that he came to know that two popular franchises – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as well as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – wanted to trade Samson for the upcoming 14th season.
“I have come to know that there were 2 teams who were trying to poach Sanju Samson, trying to lure him. One was Royal Challengers Bangalore and the other was Chennai Super Kings. After being approached by these two franchises, even the Royals would have thought to not only retain Samson but also increase his stature in the team,” said Chopra.
Chopra backed RR’s decision to let go Smith saying INR 12.5 crore was a huge amount for him and that he doesn’t think any franchise will bid that much amount for the former Aussie skipper.
“I don’t like the idea of an overseas captain. When you go with an overseas captain, he is 25% of your resource from the overseas lot. I think it’s a good move to release Steve Smith as I don’t think he’s worth Rs 12.5 crore. I would be very surprised if someone bids this much for him,” Chopra added.
Gambhir unhappy with Sanju Samson being appointed captain
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, reckoned that he would’ve handed over the captaincy to England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler as Samson needs a bit of grooming.
However, RR owner Manoj Badale heaped praise on the newly-appointed captain Samson saying it has been a joy to watch him play for the Royals in the last 8 years.
“As the IPL has grown, the captaincy has become a year-round task, and as such strong local Indian leadership has become increasingly important. Sanju made his debut as a Royal, and it has been a joy to watch his development over the last 8 years. He is the ideal person to lead the Royals into the 2021 season.
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