IPL 2022 Auction: 3 teams who could target Steve Smith
What Steve Smith brings to a franchise might be brilliant in cricket in general, but it never seems to dovetail into T20s in particular.
The Australian has the most unorthodox batting technique, but fares better as an orthodox anchor than a dominator of bowling attacks. He's a bonified leader but doesn't have the oomph of international success like MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan or the flair of a star-in-the-making like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli of 2013.
This is perhaps why IPL teams get Smith at base prices at auctions when he's at the peak of his powers in international cricket. They still lack trust.
So now that he's not been retained by the Delhi Capitals (DC) and is all set to go under the hammer for IPL 2022, there's a good amount of uncertainty about which teams might go for him, and why.
Here's a look at three possibilities:
#1 Kolkata Knight Riders
After not retaining their captain Eoin Morgan and the poster boy for the last few years Shubman Gill, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are among the only teams in need of both a present and a future captain. And if they are unwilling to get Gill back in the IPL 2022 auction, there might be a good case to look at Smith.
Smith could be the opener alongside Venkatesh Iyer and play a similar role to Gill, but with more experience. While he hasn't batted much at the top of the order, the small glimpses - five matches, 166 runs, an average of 33.20, and a strike rate of 138.33 - are at par, if not better, than his overall record in the IPL.
Even if KKR gets Gill back, or some other opener for that matter, Smith could give them a solid middle-order option in their batting line-up, something they desperately lacked in this year's runners-up finish. All this and he could also be a stop-gap captain for a couple of years, allowing the franchise to groom a future leader under his wings.
#2 Chennai Super Kings
Franchises like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and SunRisers Hyderabad won't go for Smith as they already have batting stalwarts in Kohli, Rohit and Kane Williamson respectively doing the platform-laying job for them.
But Chennai Super Kings (CSK), especially if they don't see 37-year-old Faf du Plessis as a long-term prospect, might benefit from signing Smith for IPL 2022.
The defending champions are likely to get a host of big-hitters to go alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali and Smith could offer a more serene, stable presence at the top. The Aussie has the temperament to succeed in low-scoring thrillers on spin-friendly wickets - a specialty of CSK's home ground, Chepauk.
Not to mention his handy leg-spin that'll give a useful option to MS Dhoni who has a penchant for using part-timers and all-rounders.
#3 Delhi Capitals
Not surprisingly, Steve Smith & Marnus Labuschagne have been spending their free time in the slip cordon dissecting Rory Burns’ technique but David Warner wants no piece of it #Ashes https://t.co/OjOlVIIGPm
Although Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, the new Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises can all target Smith at the IPL 2022 Auction, the chances of his erstwhile team, DC going after him again, are more significant.
Smith, despite being one of the top players in the world, looked fine holding a more sporadic position in the DC team. Much of the credit for that can go to the franchise's head coach and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who perhaps made sure Smith felt valued and got something out of the stint too.
With Shreyas Iyer gone and unlikely to return, and Shikhar Dhawan unavailable for now as well, Rishabh Pant will need all the help he can get in his second stint as captain. Smith could be that behind-the-scenes leader who can come into the playing XI according to specific needs, while constantly adding to the team environment.