"This is daylight robbery" - Twitterati erupts as DC sign Steve Smith for INR 2.2 crores

Steve Smith will play for the Delhi Capitals (DC) after the franchise snapped up the Australian star for INR 2.2 crore at the IPL 2021 auction.

This is a relatively cheap fee for someone of Smith's class and DC will be over the moon to have signed the 31-year-old for an absolute bargain.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had opened the bidding for Steve Smith at INR 2 crore, but the auctioneer was asked for some time by Punjab Kings to discuss a possible bid.

DC took advantage of the time given and swooped in with a bid of their own at INR 2.2 crore.

Fans on Twitter react to Steve Smith being snapped up by DC

No other team carried on bidding and Smith's fate was finally sealed. Fans on Twitter had mixed reactions to Steve Smith's signing.

While many feel that DC has got a fantastic player, others believe there is no point in bidding for the Australian batsman as DC is already top-heavy. They took to Twitter to express their emotions and this is what they had to say:

Our first bid of the day and we've got him ➡️ Steve Smith heads to DC for INR 220 lakh 🤩#IPLAuction2021 #YehHaiNayiDilli

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 18, 2021

Again @ajinkyarahane88 and @stevesmith49 in same Team @DelhiCapitals #IPLAuction2021 #IPL2021Auction

— deepesh adwani (@deepesh_adwani) February 18, 2021

@RCBTweets @PunjabKingsIPL leaving @stevesmith49 that cheap is the biggest blunder the bothe teams did.@DelhiCapitals wow and just wow for such a quality purchase

— SASpeaks (@sabeerali271) February 18, 2021

STEVE SMITH IN DC?? LETSSSS GOOOOO

— Aleena (@lenadelkhan) February 18, 2021

@ashwinravi99 you could have shown the video with @prasannalara to DC management. What are you gonna do with @stevesmith49 in your side? #IPLAuction2021

— D.Raj (@dheeruutweets) February 18, 2021

So RCB bids for steve Smith and then never bids for him again. Pure RCB behaviour 🤣🤣 #IPLAuction2021

— A.K (@HaddHaiYaar) February 18, 2021

Auctioneer is absolutely responsible for it.. why to hold the bid for so ping and practically pushing franchise to bid for Steve smith #IPLAuction2021

— ROFL-India (@ROFLIndia_) February 18, 2021

Steve Smith at @DelhiCapitals What a pick. Already making it the team to beat. 🔥🔥🔥#IPLAuction2021

— Anirudh Krishna (@nixyyyyyy) February 18, 2021

For the @IPL atleast Steve Smith wont try to erase @RishabhPant17's guard ...atleast for the upcoming season 🤣 #IPLAuction2021

— ☆𝓜𝓪𝔂𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓱☆ (@mayytrixx) February 18, 2021

Quite surprised CSK didn’t go for Steve Smith at all. Proper replacement for Faf/Watson in top order plus potential captain for when THAT day comes. Weird this! #IPLAuction2021

— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) February 18, 2021

I think rcb somewhat trolled dc buying making them buy Steve smith 🤣

— Abhay Punia 🇮🇳 (@abhay_punia01) February 18, 2021

Smith's IPL career barbaad#IPLAuction2021 #SteveSmith https://t.co/KSwyifuPzu

— Ankit Chaudhary (@_ankit49) February 18, 2021

DC made it to the final last season and faltered at the last hurdle against the mighty Mumbai Indians. The franchise certainly felt that despite having a heavy top-order, they lacked the quality and experience to play big matches.

With Steve Smith in their ranks now, DC will certainly feel that they have further solidified their batting.

The 31-year-old did not have a good IPL 2020, having scored just 311 runs. He was also unable to lead the Rajasthan Royals (RR) into the playoffs.

Hence, Smith will certainly have a point to prove this time around. It will be interesting to see if he gets an opportunity at the top of the order for DC, or if he'll be asked to play the anchor role in the middle.