Australian cricket superstar Steve Smith was one of the rare cricketers in the world, who opted against playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. With less than a week remaining before IPL 2023 commences, Smith set the Internet on fire by confirming his participation in the tournament. Smith took to his official Twitter handle on Monday and confirmed that he is all set to join an exceptional and passionate team in India.
In the video shared on Twitter, Smith said, “Namaste India! I have got some exciting news for you. I am joining IPL 2023. Yes that’s right. I am joining an exceptional and passionate team in India”. On coming across the video, IPL fans found themselves in a major dilemma, wondering which team will the former Aussie skipper join.
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) March 27, 2023
While the Internet overflowed with reactions, a section of fans mentioned that Smith might be joining the commentary team in the 16th edition of the marquee T20 league. This seems to be a logical conclusion as the 33-year-old didn’t register himself for the IPL 2023 Auction. However, an official confirmation about the same is awaited. It is pertinent to mention that Smith has a great run in the Big Bash League 2022-23 season, where he hit 346 runs in five games, at a strike rate of 174.10, scoring two centuries and a fifty.
A brief look at Steve Smith’s IPL career
Steve Smith was a regular appearance in the Indian Premier League from 2012 to 2021, and last played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise during the 2021 season. He was a key player for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) outfit until the 2020 season when he was retained the player for a whopping INR 12.50 crore. Things went downhill for the star cricketer in the 2021 season as he was included in the playing XI in only eight games. Smith hit a total of 2485 runs in his IPL career after playing 103 games in total. In the process, he registered 11 half-centuries and a century. Here’s a look at the confirmed commentary lineup for IPL 2023.
Hindi and English commentators for IPL 2023 on TV
English: Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Matthew Hayden, Kevin Pietersen, Aaron Finch, Tom Moody, Paul Collingwood, Daniel Vettori, Daniel Morrison, David Hussey
Hindi: Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mithali Raj, Mohd Kaif, Sanjay Manjrekar, Imran Tahir, Deep Dasgupta, Ajay Mehra, Padamjeet Sehrawat & Jatin Sapru, K Srikkanth, S Badrinath, Lakshmipathi Balaji, S Ramesh, Murali Vijay
