Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals has finally decided to release Australian star Steve Smith ahead of the 2021 auction.

Highly-placed sources in the team have confirmed to Sportstar that the decision has been taken after much deliberation. And with Smith released, the franchise is now looking at an Indian cricketer as its captain. "His contract expired in 2020 and we have decided not to renew it. Steve has had a huge contribution but we had to take a call after much deliberation," the official said. 

Smith - who took charge from Ajinkya Rahane in the middle of the season in 2019 - has failed to live up to his expectations and scored just 311 runs from 14 games in the last season as the franchise finished eighth.

There is a buzz that Sanju Samson - one of Royals' top Indian recruits - could be handed over the big role.  However, the officials claimed that they are yet to take a call. 

There were speculations that the franchise could part ways with its head coach Andrew McDonald, but this publication understands that the Australian will continue as the head coach.