Rajasthan Royals have made it clear they will not tolerate any unfair action and would wait for BCCI's instructions before taking a call on Steve Smith. As per unconfirmed reports earlier, it was reported that Smith has been sacked as their captain ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Smith along with Cameron Bancroft admitted to have tampered with the ball during the the third day’s play in the third South Africa vs Australia Test in Cape Town. Addressing the press conference after the day’s play Smith said that it was ‘deliberate’ plan from the “leadership group” to tamper with the ball. Bancroft, who was caught on camera rubbing the ball with a yellow tape, later said that he will deal with the damage that comes to his reputation as a consequence. The 25-year-old said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meanwhile, Smith and his deputy David Warner have both stepped down as Australia captain and vice-captain respectively.

“We have been made aware of the controversy of ball tampering in the ongoing Australia - South Africa series and await further instructions from BCCI, before we make any announcement," said Ranjit Barthakur, Executive Chairman of Rajasthan Royals in a statement.

"We at Rajasthan Royals will not tolerate any actions that are unfair by definition and bring disrepute to the game of cricket. Our Zero tolerance policy applies to everyone in our team. Please bear with us," he added

On February 24, Smith was named Royals skipper. Interestingly, he was the lone player to be retained by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2018 auction. Royals are making a comeback from the two-year ban and have now already suffered a blow.

Rajasthan Royals open their IPL 2018 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on April 09. Interestingly, Warner is the captain of Sunrisers.

Meanwhile, wicketkeeper batsman Tim Paine has been named as acting captain for the remainder of the Cape Town Test.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 25, 2018 03:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).