Jaipur, April 8: Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith is looking forward to how the younger players in the squad, particularly all-rounder Riyan Parag and batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, perform in the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League. Riyan was 17-year-old when he made his IPL debut with the Royals last year and Smith said that he was very much impressed with the freedom with which he batted and recalled the time when he almost dismissed M.S. Dhoni.

"Young 17-year-old kid carrying around his teddy bears. He copped a bit but when he went out to play he did it with such freedom and even won a few games with his own bat. Pretty special, I could just see the joy on his face," Smith said in an interaction with RR team mate Ish Sodhi on the franchise's Facebook page on Tuesday. Steve Smith Becomes Fastest Batsman to Score 7000 Runs, Achieves Feat During Australia vs Pakistan 2nd Test Match 2019.

"He was bowling to M.S. Dhoni and almost got him out and just the smile on his face when he was bowling was so cool. We've been very lucky to have some good young players."

Smith said that he is also excited to see how Jaiswal would do if and when the season starts. Jaiswal went into the U19 World Cup last year with a lot of hype around him due to his record breaking double-ton in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He ended up taking the World Cup by storm and was the highest scorer in the tournament.

"Jaiswal, he was the top scorer at the U19s and looks a quality player. So, fingers crossed we can get over this year and see all that young talent close up again," said Smith. Smith hoped that the situation around the coronavirus pandemic gets normalised quickly and the IPL can happen this year. It was scheduled to start on March 29 but had to be postponed due to the spread of the virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2020 12:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).