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.