IPL: Steve Smith Names Two Young Players To Watch Out For

Steve Smith took over the ‘captaincy reigns’ from Ajinkya Rahane in the previous edition of IPL. He also made all the difference since taking over as the captain. However, the Jaipur franchise, finished second last in the IPL 2019 table with five wins and eight losses from the stipulated 14.

Rajasthan Royals had some brilliant young talents on show in the previous edition. Spinner Shreyas Gopal deceived most batsmen for fun while Riyan Parag’s hard-hitting skills brought him into the limelight.

Captain Steve Smith impressed with Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag made an impressive debut at the age of 17 for Rajasthan Royals. He featured in seven matches of the lucrative tournament, scoring 160 runs, at an average of 32. He also had a decent strike rate of 126.98 and hit one half-century.

Steve Smith is mighty impressed with the youngster and said he can win you a match on his own when given the freedom to exploit the conditions. He also said, the youngster enjoys batting and scoring runs.

“Young 17-year-old kid carrying around his teddy bears. He copped a bit but when he went out to play he did it with such freedom and even won a few games with his own bat. Pretty special, I could just see the joy on his face,” Smith said in an interaction with RR team mate Ish Sodhi on the franchise’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

“He was bowling to MS Dhoni and almost got him out and just the smile on his face when he was bowling was so cool. We’ve been very lucky to have some good young players.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal looks a quality player: Steve Smith

Yashasvi Jaiswal was in the thick of things during the U-19 World Cup. Though, the Indian colts could not bag the World Cup, he contributed to the fore. Jaiswal was the most run scorer in the tournament and also picked up crucial wickets.

Jaiswal was subsequently bought for Rs.2.40 crore by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2020 auction. The Jaipur franchise bagged the deal after there was an intense bidding against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

“Jaiswal, he was the top scorer at the U19s and looks a quality player. So, fingers crossed we can get over this year and see all that young talent close up again,” said Smith.

However, the clouds of uncertainty still hover over the commencement of IPL 2020, as its fate is yet to be decided.