Vivo IPL 2021: Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith is likely to feature in the second half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, starting September 19. The cricketer was sidelined from Australia’s tour of Bangladesh and the West Indies due to injury concerns.
Smith sustained an elbow injury owing to which the cricketer had to miss out on the two important limited-overs tours of Bangladesh and West Indies ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021.
Cricket.com.au confirmed that Smith is recovering well from his injury and was seen batting in the nets for 1 hour at New South Wales’ training. The visuals also clear the participation of the cricketer for the upcoming 31 matches of the IPL 2021.
Due to the increasing danger of Covid19 in India, the tournament was midway shifted to the UAE. Only 29 matches of the lucrative league were held in the country and the remaining 31 will be staged in the UAE. Moreover, the T20 World Cup 2021, which was slated to be held in India, is also transferred to the UAE due to similar reasons.
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Vivo IPL 2021: Australia’s Steve Smith likely to play the Vivo IPL 2021.
“It seems to be going really well. I know that he’s (Smith) been building up his batting time over the last couple of weeks – I know that would have been difficult to have a time limit on his net times,” Finch told cricket.com.au on Wednesday.
“From all reports he’s been really strict with that, making sure he doesn’t overdo his elbow so it hinders his rehab,” he added.
Steve Smith was bagged by Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2021 auctions for 2.2 crores.
Finch further informed that Smith is not having any pain due to the injury and is recovering well.
“He’s going really well. The last time I spoke to him he wasn’t having any pain batting so that was a real positive. He’s going to be such an important part of our campaign,” Finch said.
It will be a tricky job to fit in Steve Smith in Delhi’s playing XI, especially after Shreyas Iyer’s recovery. However, the cricketer will be a vital cog for DC, if Iyer fails to score runs.
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