Steve Smith has registered himself for IPL 2026 auction at a base price of INR 2 crore.
Among the big names to register for the IPL 2026 auction is Steve Smith, who has put his base price at INR 2 crore. His last outing in the competition was in 2021, following which he fell off the radar. However, he has recently worked on his T20 game and played in a couple of leagues to reignite his career.
Still, Smith’s chances of getting sold are minimal for multiple reasons. Firstly, almost every team has top-order batters and backups. Secondly, Smith doesn’t boast a great IPL record and doesn’t fit in modern-day T20 demands against quality bowling attacks.
Moreover, he is an overseas player who, at best, contributes when batting as an opener without bowling value. He doesn’t even find a spot in Australia’s T20I XI. Hence, teams might be reluctant to go after him at this stage of his career.
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Not many teams have valid reasons to target Steve Smith. However, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) are one team that can go after him in the upcoming auction. Not that they desperately require him, but RR can afford to buy him.
The biggest reason is that Sanju Samson is no longer part of the franchise after being traded to CSK, leaving the captaincy slot vacant. Smith is among the sharpest cricket brains and boasts a fabulous captaincy record. He has previously led three IPL franchises, including Rajasthan Royals.
So, the team understands how good he can be as a leader. RR have historically had fewer captains than several other teams and can opt for Steve Smith to re-establish stability. There are a few captaincy candidates in the side, but they are either inexperienced or have not performed well as a captain before.
Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja have been underwhelming as IPL captains, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel have hardly led at a competitive level. Jadeja’s own performances took a massive hit when CSK appointed him the captain in IPL 2022. Unfortunately, RR won’t have any quality option, barring Smith, for the captaincy role to buy in the auction.
The issue for the Rajasthan Royals is that they can’t afford to buy Steve Smith and use an overseas slot just because he can lead them. He must contribute as a batter. In the current setup, RR can look to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, with Steve Smith at No.3.
They have Lhuan-dre Pretorius for this role, but Smith can start ahead of him if RR buy him. He has played ample cricket at this position and might be best suited at one down. He can be the LHB-splitter and avoid making the top order one-dimensional, which can happen if Pretorius plays.
Smith has recently improved his strike rate and looked to play attacking cricket from the start. His strike rate of 154.22 in 2025 is his second-highest in a year in T20s, only behind 2023 (160.94). So, the improvement is definitely there, even if he remains untested against better attacks.
However, the Rajasthan Royals have reasons not to opt for Steve Smith. Not many things go in his favour, and the captaincy alone is not a reason enough. But if there’s any team where Smith fits, it’s RR.
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