In cut-throat IPL world, Ajinkya Rahane had a captaincy axe coming

Rajasthan Royals' Ajinkya Rahane

Everybody knows the IPL is a cut-throat competition. It has a heavy corporate culture, where if you do not deliver, you face the axe. Ajinkya Rahane had it coming after he failed to lead the Rajasthan Royals with success.

With the team languishing near-bottom in the points table, things just seemed to be getting hopeless. The franchise owners decided it was time to hand over the reins to Steven Smith, even though the Aussie is set to leave the IPL on May 1. But by then Royals would have played all but one of their league matches and their fate would have been decided. The team management is hopeful that he would be allowed to play out the tournament if the team make it to the playoffs.

Rahane had become the Rajasthan Royals skipper last season by default as Smith was suspended for a year by Cricket Australia for the infamous sandpaper ball tampering affair.

Also Read: Playing XI not clicking, says Rajasthan Royals coach Paddy Upton

Rahane had led the Royals to the playoffs last edition, so there was little reason for the franchise to replace him till things went really bad. There is no doubt that Royals had a back-up plan. There were a few banners at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday with Smith in the centre flanked by Rahane and Sanju Samson. It is not the first time that a franchise has changed the leader mid-tournament.

The most famous shift was when Rohit Sharma took over as Mumbai Indians leader from Ricky Ponting and changed the fortunes of the team. Zubin Bharucha, the head of cricket for Rajasthan Royals, said: "Steve is one of the most innovative and successful captains in the world, in all formats of the game. We are confident he can lead the Royals to success."

Bharucha also defined the role of dethroned skipper. "Ajinkya is and will always be a true Royal. He led the team to the playoffs in 2018 in a very challenging scenario and that will go down as one of the great comebacks of the IPL. "He remains a key part of our side and leadership team, and will extend support whenever required to Steve."

Also Read: Steve Smith handed captaincy by Rajasthan Royals

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates