IPL 2020: Captain Steve Smith returns as Royals face CSK today

Steve Smith during a training session in Sharjah on Monday

The Sharjah Cricket Stadium, a venue steeped in history, will welcome the 2020 Indian Premier League with open arms on Tuesday.

And this iconic stadium could not have hoped for a better start as Steve Smith, one of the greatest batsmen in contemporary cricket, will make his return to the sacred 22-yard strip following a battle with concussion which kept him out of the recent one-day series against England.      

Smith is now back and available for selection when the Rajasthan Royals open their IPL campaign against three-time champions Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.

The Rajasthan Royals' Australian captain will be keen to give his team a flying start when they lock horns with the MS Dhoni-led CSK - a team that enjoy a superior head-to-head record against them.

But the Royals will miss their English World Cup hero Jos Buttler in the opening game. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who arrived separately with his family, is still in quarantine.

And Ben Stokes, the Wisden Cricketer of the Year, will also miss the first game. The England all-rounder is currently spending time with his ailing father in New Zealand.

But the 2008 champions are glad to have Smith available from the first game.
"Yeah obviously missed the last three one-dayers in England. Been in Dubai for a couple of days now with some good rest and then got into a bit of running," the Australian star batsman said.

"Yesterday I did a bit of zig-zag running, which is part of the protocols to pass to get back to play and today I'll have a hit in the nets. Hopefully, pull up well from the hit and be good to play tomorrow.

"The guys have been here for a month now and from all reports, the training's been magnificent. It's been good to catch up with both the old and the new Royals, we're in a good place and have got a really good squad this year, really strong and we're ready to get going."

Smith knows the team will need to be at the top of their game against a brilliant Chennai team that beat the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener.  

"Chennai and Mumbai both have been two really strong teams for a long time now. We obviously watched a bit of the game the other night, the Super Kings played really well to get over the line in the end. Hopefully, we can put on a really good show and get our campaign off to a good start," he said.

And Andrew McDonald, the Royals head coach, said it was fantastic to have Smith for the first game against the CSK.
"Fantastic news that Steve is available. It's fantastic especially on the back of some setbacks back in the UK. It's obviously great to have your skipper available for the first game as I've said before we are in really good hands," the Australian coach said.

"In terms of the rest of the squad, we couldn't be happier with their preparation. We've got what we needed, having been here nice and early to get our preparation going on the back of the long lay-off."

But McDonald admitted that Chennai would have a slight edge, having already played a match in these conditions.
"They had a fantastic first game, they're one game into the tournament which is a slight advantage when you come out against the team that's already played and performed," he said.

"So, we'll definitely have our work cut out and really looking forward to what our guys can bring to the table and we're really excited about what the journey presents."  

McDonald said the shorter boundaries in Sharjah would challenge the bowlers.
"We've trained at Sharjah a couple of times. The guys have been able to feel what it's like batting at the centre and have had plenty of fielding down there, so they are quite familiar with the stadium," he said.

"Clearly a different surface to Dubai or Abu Dhabi in terms of runs and the size of the venue so it'll create some difficult challenges there for the bowling unit so no question there being a high-scoring ground. But we feel the team will put out their best show to be able to combat what CSK will throw at us.