IPL 2021: 4 Teams that can target Steve Smith in the upcoming auction

The players’ auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is just around the corner. On Thursday (February 1💞8), all franchises will gather in Chennai to pick players in accordance with their requirements.

Ahead of the upcoming bidding process, teams had released many big fishes who were unable to perform in the previous edition of the cash-rich league. One of the big players who was released was Australian batting maestro Steve Smith.

Smith led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the thirteenth season of the lucrative league but couldn’t perform with the bat and looked cꦺlueless as a leader as well. Smith amassed 311 runs from 14 games at an average of 25.91 with three fifties. Under his leadership, RR finished at the b𓆏ottom in the points table in IPL 2020, winning only 6 of their 14 matches.

Ahead of the mini-auction, Smith has registered his name at a base price of INR 2 crores. He might not attract a lot of money, but given his interna𒆙tiona♍l cricket credentials, Smith can not be ignored as well.

Let’s have a look at four such teams that can target Smi😼th ♌in IPL 2021 auction:

1.) Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a good outing in the previous edition of the exciting league held in th♑e United Arab Emirates (UAE). After three 𒅌bad seasons, RCB had qualified for the playoffs in IPL. They finished the lucrative tournament as the 4th best team.

What RCB missed in IPL 2020 was a reliable middle-order batsman who could hold one end to form important partnerships, a🌳nd Smith is a master of this art.

Since the ‘Team Red’ is quite largely dependent on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, so th🧸ey need a world-class batsman in the middle and Smith can be a good option.

2.) Kings XI Punjab

Unlike RCB, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) had a disappointing season in IPL last year𝄹. The KL Rahul-led side missed out to register a꧟ place in the playoffs for a sixth consecutive time.

Ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, KXIP have released several big players like Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, James Neesham, and Karun Nair. The Mohali-based franchise have 🉐nine slots left, including five foreigners, and one of them could get fulfilled by Smith.

Apart from Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, no other batsman left an impact in IPL 2020 for Punjab. Though Chris Gayle did impress with the bat, but he mi༒ssed quite a few games concerning fitness issues. If Smith comes to the squad of 🥃KXIP, he will boost the batting unit.

3.) Sunrisers Hyderabad

One of the most consistent sides in IPL, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), s🅘howed another fine display of team performance in the lucrative league’s previous season. SRH finished IPL 2020 as the third-best team o🦄f the tournament.