When the defunct Indian Premier League franchise (IPL) Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) announced Steve Smith as the captain of their franchise in 2017, the decision came as a surprise to millions of cricket followers around the world. The reason why it came as shock was that the franchise had the services of arguably one of the greatest leaders of all time, MS Dhoni. Yet, RPSG decided to give the captaincy honour to Smith.
Smith, who will be part of the Star Sports commentary panel for IPL 2022, reflected on his time as RPS and Dhoni's captain in the cash-rich tournament, Smith opened up on what his initial reaction was when he got to know that he would be leading the wicketkeeper-batter.
"When I got the call to say that they wanted me to captain, it was a little bit daunting. But that season, MSD was just wonderful. You know, he helped in any way that he could and, he's a terrific guy," Smith told Star Sports.
"It was a great experience being able to captain him, but also very daunting as well," he added.
Smith did a tremendous job leading RPS in 2017. The Aussie superstar took the franchise to the final before facing defeat against the Mumbai Indians.
The 33-year-old also spoke at length about the emotional side of leading the franchise and Dhoni.
"Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect initially, you know, MS had captained every team he played for, obviously throughout the IPL with Chennai, every season should I say," Smith continued.
"But yeah, when they came and asked me, I was a little bit shocked first, and then I didn't really know what to say. It was like, have you spoken to MS about this? This is a little bit strange from my side, but after we sorted everything out, MS was just wonderful.
"And the way he helped me and helped guide that team that year was incredible. And yeah, I couldn't thank him enough." Smith said he was bouncing ideas off Dhoni.
"He was someone that I was bouncing ideas off. You know, being behind the stumps, he's got a great, great view of the game. He understands the angles really well and obviously playing in India also, you know, it's his home and he understands those conditions as well as anyone would," he added.
Talking about Smith's IPL career, the right-handed batter has represented four franchises in the cash-rich league - Pune Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiants, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals. Smith has played 103 matches in IPL, scoring 2,485 runs in the process at a strike rate of 128.09. He has also smashed 11 half-centuries and one ton in the greatest T20 franchise league in the world.
Smith went unsold during the IPL Mega Auction in 2022 and didn't register his name for the mini-auction ahead of the 16th edition of the cash-rich league.
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