IPL 2018: 5 players who captained IPL teams before their national sides

#2 Steve Smith

Steve Smith led Pune Warriors India in one game in 2012 for the first time in the IPL

Steve Smith’s story is another one of transformation, albeit in a different context. This is why he is considered to be by many as the best in Test cricket and one of the best in all formats of the game. From being a leg-spinner who would bat lower down the order for cameos, Smith used his time out of the Australian side during the period of 2011-2013 to convert himself into a full-fledged batsman who can play at any gear when required. This is something he always wished to achieve.

His progress was noticed in the cricketing world even before he became the success that he is today. Around the same time, he was leading the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

In the IPL, a struggling Pune Warriors India gave him an opportunity for the first time to captain in 2012, when it was decided that a beleaguered Sourav Ganguly won’t play in a match against RCB in Bengaluru. Though Pune lost the game, it marked a rare instance of a player, that too an overseas one, leading an IPL franchise in a game before their national team.

It was in December 2014 when Smith led Australia for the first time in 3 Tests against India, though stepping in for Michael Clarke. Establishing himself as his country’s top batsman and in the IPL as well, Smith started captaining Australia full-time after the Ashes 2015 in England. He went on to lead the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant to the finals of the IPL 2017. Come 2018, and he will at the helm of the Rajasthan Royals, his IPL team from 2014-2015.