IPL 2020: Steve Smith likely to lose out on ₹12.5 crore deal for second time since 2018

The Rajasthan Royals spectacularly won the inaugural IPL edition but since then, the team has struggled to find its identity. The IPL 2020 looked like a bright prospect for the team as they got their hands on some talented players like David Miller and Robin Uthappa at the auction and made Steve Smith as their captain again. However, the coronavirus may have ruined the Royals' chances of becoming champions again as it becoming more likely that the IPL 2020 will be cancelled. 

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Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith mentally prepared for IPL 2020 cancellation

Former Australia captain and current Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith spoke to the Channel 9 Wide World of Sports and talked about his time away from the game due to the coronavirus pandemic. Steve Smith revealed that his schedule these days is mostly to practice his guitar, focus on his fitness in his gym at home or going for a run. Talking about the IPL, Steve Smith talked about how it is becoming increasingly evident that the chances for IPL 2020 are highly diminishing.

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However, the former Australian skipper is trying to stay in good physical and mental shape so that he can be up to the challenge if a truncated IPL ends up happening. Even if the IPL got cancelled, Steve Smith was not fretting too much as the star batsman said that "there is already enough going on in the world". Steve Smith stands to lose ₹12.5 crore that he was supposed to earn from his IPL contract if the tournament gets called off. Smith also saw his Rajasthan Royals contract torn apart in 2018 due to his 1-year ban for being involved in the infamous 'Sandpapergate' scandal in South Africa.

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IPL postponed: Is the IPL cancelled?

Amidst the rising concerns around the novel coronavirus in India, the BCCI had the IPL postponed to a date beyond April 15. It is now being reported that the BCCI will be cancelling the IPL as the situation in the country seems to be deteriorating by the day. The official confirmation for this update is yet to arrive. The Rajasthan Royals team for 2020 was going to be captained by Steve Smith along with the likes of Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa and David Miller in the team.

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