Steve Smith is targeting a successful IPL season with Rajasthan Royals and is pleased with the squad at his disposal.
Royals captain Smith will lead the side for the start of the campaign for the first time after previously stepping in mid-season.
The Australia star thinks RR had a good auction and wants to go far in the competition.
“I am looking forward to this year. Hopefully we can start well and build momentum throughout and hopefully be there in finals,” he told Sportstar.
Rajasthan can be backed at 9.50 (17/2) with 10Cric to win the IPL in 2020.
They have been in the IPL since its inception but have not added to the title they won in the tournament’s first season.
Smith pleased with the balance of the squad
Smith believes RR may have found just the right mix of youth and experience.
The franchise bought in Indian duo Robin Uthappa and Jaydev Unadkat, South African David Miller and West Indian Oshane Thomas at the auction.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kartik Tyagi, Anirudha Ashok Joshi and Akash Singh continued Rajasthan’s spend on domestic talent. England fast bowler Tom Curran and Australian seamer Andrew Tye added to their international buys.
He said: “It’s exciting to be back leading the Royals. I have had a few opportunities to lead the Royals throughout and I don’t think I have actually started a year as captain before, so I am excited about that.
“We have a really good squad, some quality Indian players, some terrific overseas players and I think we have got a good mix of experience and youth.”
“I think we had a good auction. I have heard some terrific things about young (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, we’ve got Robin Uthappa with some experience having played a lot in the IPL.
“Tom Curran’s been smashing it in the big bash, I think David Miller has been a proven performer at the IPL. We’ve got Oshane Thomas back who played really well at the back end of last season. So yeah, I think we’ve got a good mix and hopefully we can give the tournament a shake this year.”