Surprised Steve Smith stayed on for IPL despite a minor contract: Mark Taylor

Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor is surprised that Steve Smith stayed on for IPL despite getting a minor contract. Taylor suggested that someone like Steve Smith, who was bought for INR 2.2 crores in the player auction, should have got more. He was surprised that the batsman even went to India for that in the first place. Before the commencement of IPL, former cricketer Michael Clarke has indicated that batsman Smith might pull out of IPL 2021. Delhi Capitals picked the top-ranked batsman for a relatively small amount of Rs 2.2 crores at the auction. Smith is one of the finest batsmen in cricket. He looked in great form during the limited-overs series against India last year. The 39-year-old former Australian skipper had also added that one should not be surprised if Smith pulls a hamstring injury days before boarding the flight to India.

Rajasthan Royals, who retained Steve Smith in 2018 for Rs 12.5 crore, finished at the bottom in the points table in IPL 2020 under his captaincy. Steve Smith has amassed 2333 runs from 95 matches in the IPL while scoring 311 from 14 games last season. 

IPL will play a very crucial role for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup: Mark Taylor

Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, and Adam Zampa returned home amid the fuming crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Despite that, 14 Australian cricketers, members of the coaching staff, and commentary teams, many Australian players are still in India doing their respective jobs. With the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup still slated to be played in India, IPL would play a very crucial role in the players acclimatizing themselves to the Indian pitches and conditions. All the players have to deal with later this year in the much-anticipated competition.

Since then, Steve Smith, who didn't play the first couple of games for the Delhi Capitals, has played all the games for the side. He has played a couple of crucial innings for them, especially in the two Chennai matches. Mark Taylor believes that the decision to play in the IPL for somebody like Pat Cummins is still worthy as he is on an INR 15.5 crore contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders. However, the 56-year-old reckons that Steve Smith could have pulled out of the IPL, as he is on a not as big a contract as it probably should have been.

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