IPL: Trouble Mounts For MS Dhoni's RPS, Steve Smith Latest Star To Be Ruled Out

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Rising Pune Supergiants' Indian Premier League 2016 campaign seems to be going from bad to worse with Australia's Steve Smith becoming the latest international star to be ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

The Pune Supergiants, who had already lost Kevin Pietersen and Faf du Plessis through injuries, suffered another setback when Mitchell Marsh exited the tournament on Sunday because of a side strain.

Smith, who on Friday night registered his maiden T20 hundred, has been a key man for Pune in their first season, scoring 270 runs at 45, and as such the news comes as a major blow for a side that is languishing in sixth spot in the standings and has already been beset by injuries.

Cricket Australia on Monday confirmed that Smith will return home from the IPL due to a wrist injury.

Team Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager Alex Kountouris said: "Steve has been struggling with pain in his right wrist for the last week during his stint in the IPL.

"We have been working with his IPL franchise Pune to monitor this and unfortunately it has not resolved. As such, he will return home from India for further assessment and treatment ahead of the Tour of the West Indies."

"From the information we have so far, this doesn't appear to be a serious injury but we are keen to give him the time to recover and rehabilitate before heading to the West Indies at the end of May," Kountouris added in a CA release.

With things not going well on-field - RPS are sixth in the IPL table with just two wins in eight matches - off-field troubles too are now mounting for Dhoni's side.

Following Mitchell Marsh's exit, RPS took on Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, and once again outclassed with MI skipper Rohit Sharma leading from the front in the easy eight-wicket win.