Steve Smith has been stripped of the captaincy of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals on the eve of the new campaign for his role in Australia's ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. The Aussie captain admitted he and a 'leadership group' deliberately tried to alter the condition of the ball during the 322-run defeat in the third Test in Cape Town. Smith was stood down as skipper by Cricket Australia for the Test match and handed a one-match ban by the ICC. Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket, said, 'The incident in Cape Town has certainly disturbed the cricket world. Co-owner Manoj Badale added: 'Rajasthan Royals will do everything possible to protect the values and the integrity of the game.

Source: Daily Mail March 26, 2018 10:11 UTC