Australia's Test cricket captain Steve Smith plays with a tennis ball during a training session at The Brabourne Cricket Stadium in Mumbai on February 15, 2017. Australia will play a four match Test series against india with the first Test scheduled to start in Pune from February 23. Indranil Mukherjee / AFP
Australia's Test cricket captain Steve Smith plays with a tennis ball during a training session at The Brabourne Cricket Stadium in Mumbai on February 15, 2017. Australia will play a four match Test series against india with the first Test scheduled to start in Pune from February 23. Indranil Mukherjee / AFP
Australia's Test cricket captain Steve Smith plays with a tennis ball during a training session at The Brabourne Cricket Stadium in Mumbai on February 15, 2017. Australia will play a four match Test series against india with the first Test scheduled to start in Pune from February 23. Indranil Mukherjee / AFP
Australia's Test cricket captain Steve Smith plays with a tennis ball during a training session at The Brabourne Cricket Stadium in Mumbai on February 15, 2017. Australia will play a four match Test s

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Steve Smith named captain of IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants as MS Dhoni is stood down

Dhoni, who stepped down as India’s limited-overs captain last month, will continue to play as wicketkeeper-batsman for the Rising Pune Supergiants in the Twenty20 franchise-based competition that begins April 5.

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NEW DELHI // MS Dhoni has been stood down as captain of his Indian Premier League team with Australia’s Steve Smith replacing him for the upcoming tournament, an official statement said Sunday.

Dhoni, who stepped down as India’s limited-overs captain last month, will continue to play as wicketkeeper-batsman for the Rising Pune Supergiants in the Twenty20 franchise-based competition that begins April 5.

“Rising Pune Supergiant today announced the appointment of Steve Smith as their new captain for the forthcoming edition of IPL season 10,” a team statement said.

Team owner Sanjiv Goenka said Dhoni “is supportive of the decision, keeping the franchise’s best interests in mind”.

Under Dhoni’s captaincy, the Pune team finished second last in their debut IPL season in 2016, winning only five games and losing nine.

Dhoni, 35, scored 284 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 135 while Smith, 27, who captains Australia in all formats, hit 270 in seven at a 153-strike rate.

“Frankly speaking, we did not have a good last season and we wanted someone young to lead the side and revamp it ahead of the upcoming Season 10,” Goenka told the Press Trust of India.

Dhoni was chosen to head the Pune franchise after the Supergiants and Gujarat Lions replaced Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which were suspended for two seasons following a spot-fixing scandal in 2013.

He had been the captain of the Super Kings since the IPL’s inception in 2008 and made it the most successful team, having won the short-form tournament in 2010 and 2011 and finishing runners-up on four occasions.

Separately, India’s cricket board said Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc was no longer a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team.

Starc had been signed up to the Bangalore franchise since 2014, but played only two tournaments for them. He skipped last year’s edition due to a foot injury.

The latest announcements come just before the IPL player auction in Bangalore on Monday.

* Agence France-Presse

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