New Delhi: Placed seventh on the points table in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals have removed Ajinkya Rahane as the captain and handed the armband to former skipper Steve Smith. But the decision of the franchise to name Smith the captain has surprised members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who feel that while the board had taken cognizance of Cricket Australia’s decision to ban Smith and David Warner and banned them from participation in IPL 2018, then the matter of captaincy should also have been kept in mind.
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While banning skipper Smith, deputy Warner and Cameron Bancroft during the Sandpaper Gate fiasco, Cricket Australia had clearly said that Smith would be barred from leadership roles for two years apart from being banned for 12 months from all international and domestic cricket. A senior BCCI functionary asked if it was fair on the franchise’s part to name Smith skipper even as he is still barred from leading the national or his state team for another 12 months.
“The CoA had taken note of Cricket Australia’s decision to ban the players and simultaneously banned them for the last edition of the IPL. What happens to the ban on captaincy then? Doesn’t that also count? Or is the implementation of CA’s ruling only as per convenience? The franchise must answer that as also the Committee of Administrators (CoA) must take note,” the functionary said.
