Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricketer for India, thinks Australia’s Steve Smith would make a great replacement for Kane Williamson for the Gujarat Titans (GT). Williamson sustained an injury on March 31 while playing for Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2023 season opening (CSK).
Williamson was bought by the reigning champions for INR 2 crore in the mini-player auction last year after spending eight years with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Sadly, he will not be able to play this season due to an early injury.
Manjrekar thought Steve Smith would make a great substitute for the best hitter in New Zealand. He feels that the Titans need someone like Smith.
“I believe it would be a wise decision, because Steve Smith is the type of player they need—someone who can play in a variety of gears, “As reported by News18, Manjrekar added.
Notably, in Pat Cummins’ absence, he captained Australia and managed a win and a draw in the final two Tests of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Manjrekar mentioned the Australian’s leadership abilities and said that if Gujarat sign him, Hardik Pandya and Co. will greatly benefit from his astute nature as a leader.
“Moreover, with the new rules, I’d love to see Steve Smith captain the team; we saw it and loved it in the series between Australia and India, “added Manjrekar.
The 57-year-old continued, “Hardik Pandya needs a little assistance; he admitted, ‘I have no idea what my tactics are, so I’m going to leave it to the others.’ So, that may be a terrific call.
The Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans will play that day.
Gujarat won by five wickets with four balls remaining in the first game of the IPL 2023 after successfully chasing down the 179-run target that MS Dhoni and company had set. The CSK opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad, played outstandingly for his team, scoring 92 runs off 50 balls. On April 4, Titans will play the Delhi Capitals (DC) at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.