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Updated April 7th, 2021 at 19:46 IST

Steve Smith 'excited' to play under Rishabh Pant at DC, names the team to beat in IPL 2021

In a Q&A session, Smith picked Prithvi Shaw as the youngster he is looking forward to, stating that he has heard a lot about the young gun from Ricky Ponting. 

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
Steve Smith
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Gearing up for the IPL 2021 which is just days away, Australia's talisman Steven Smith on Wednesday expressed his excitement to play under a young Rishabh Pant, who has been appointed the Delhi Capitals' captain to replace an injured Shreyas Iyer. Smith, who was acquired by the Capitals after being released by Rajasthan Royals, also exuded confidence in Pant's captaincy and hoped to clinch the title this year. The Australian batsman also picked defending champions Mumbai Indians as the team to beat in IPL 2021. 

In a Question & Answers session on Wednesday, when asked of the team to beat in IPL, Smith said, "Mumbai obviously are a quality side. They won the competition last year. But hopefully, Delhi can go one better than them this year. Look forward to get started in a couple of days time." 

'Excited to see Rishabh as captain'

Expressing his thoughts on Rishabh Pant's appointment as the captain, Smith said, "I’m excited to see Rishabh as captain, he’s an incredible player as we have seen in the last few months. He’s taken his game to a new level and I think captaincy will suit him really well, so excited to work under him and hopefully we can be successful." Notably, Pant has been chosen as the captain despite the presence of veteran players and former captains in the side including Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane. 

Apart from this, Smith also revealed that Pune is his most favourite Indian venue, adding that he has a lot of memories associated with the stadium. When asked about the youngster he is looking forward to, the Australian picked opener Prithvi Shaw and highlighted that he has heard a lot about the young gun from Head Coach Ricky Ponting. 

Ahead of the highly anticipated season, Ricky Ponting in a conversation with cricket.co.au revealed that Steve Smith could play in the top three for the Delhi Capitals. Ponting mentioned how the prolific run-scorer will be looking to prove a point after being released by the Rajasthan Royals earlier this year. He also stated that he has had a word with the ex-Australia captain, and he seems to be very keen to make an impact with a spirited performance. The 46-year-old pointed out that with a mega-auction coming up next year, Smith's price also could observe a significant jump if he has a successful season. 

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Published April 7th, 2021 at 19:46 IST

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