IPL franchise Delhi Capitals' new addition, Steve Smith arrived in Mumbai ahead of IPL 2021. The franchise posted a picture of the former Australian skipper from Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel on their social media handles. Smith was roped in by Delhi Capitals for INR 2.2 crore after being released from the 2008 winners, Rajasthan Royals after IPL 2020. Smith will be joining a franchise that finished runners-up in the last season of the IPL, losing out on their maiden trophy to eventual winners Mumbai Indians.
The DC franchise posted a picture with a caption that read: "2 monumental icons in one frame. Welcome to the DC family, @steve_smith49 #YehHaiNayiDilli @tajmahalmumbai."
The Australian star will be playing under DC's new skipper, Rishabh Pant after regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the IPL 2021 owing to a shoulder injury he sustained during the India vs England ODI series.
Although Smith finished the last season with 311 runs in 14 games, scoring at an average of 25.91 and a strike-rate of 131.22, his leadership qualities were tested to the fullest as RR were placed bottom of the points table.
Their 14 games included eight losses and six wins, gathering only 12 points throughout the league campaign.
DC squad for IPL 2021:
Rishabh Pant (wk) & (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings