IPL 2020: 2008 winners team Rajasthan pay 'Royal' tribute to skipper Steve Smith

Steve Smith has the additional responsibility of leading the Rajasthan team as well as making his bat do the talking in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League that gets underway on Saturday. However, before the top-ranked batsman leads his team from the front, the Rajasthan team decided to offer a 'Royal' tribute to their captain on social media.

'Can you wave to us?'

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the inaugural edition winners had posted an image of Smith supposedly waving from his hotel room. The former champions captioned the image as 'Skipper, can you wave to us from your room?'

Smith is one of those players who had participated in the recently concluded limited-overs series between arch-rivals England and Australia. He had played in the three-match T20I series but was ruled out of the ODI series that followed as he had suffered a concussion while batting in the nets. Reportedly, all the English and Australian players have been asked to quarantine themselves for 36 hours after they have landed in the UAE from England. 

Rajasthan in IPL 2020

The Test sensation was named the 2008 IPL champions' captain in the middle of last season after Ajinkya Rahane was sacked due to poor results. Rahane was released by Rajasthan in the IPL 2020 Auctions that were held in December last year and was roped in by Delhi.

The Royals will kickstart their campaign when they lock horns against three-time winners Chennai at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah on September 22.

Meanwhile, the Royals would be hoping for a revival in their fortunes after having unveiled their official jersey as they have not succeeded in replicating the same performance post the inaugural edition in 2008 where the Australian spin legend Shane Warne had led them to their first and only triumph in the cash-rich event.

(Image Courtesy: AP)

READ: Rajasthan Royals Coach On Ben Stokes' Availability For IPL 2020: 'A Difficult Scenario'