“As the IPL has grown, the captaincy has become a year-round task, and as such strong local Indian leadership has become increasingly important,” said RR owner Manoj Badale in a statement.
“Sanju made his debut as a Royal, and it has been a joy to watch his development over the last 8 years. He is the ideal person to lead the Royals into the 2021 season,” he added.
Smith’s contract ended in October 2020.

The Australians, smarting from a Test series loss to an injury-plagued India, took a hit as the likes of the explosive Glenn Maxwell and opener Aaron Finch too were released by Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively.

Also released by KXIP were West Indies all-rounder Sheldon Cottrell, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham, who underwent a surgery recently to treat an injured finger.

CSK’s Harbhajan Singh and Mumbai Indians’ Lasith Malinga were among the other big names to be released by their respective sides ahead of next month’s auction.
Harbhajan was joined by the likes of Kedar Jadhav, Piyush Chawla and Murali Vijay who were also let go by the franchise.

Also released by MI was Sherfane Rutherford, while Delhi Capitals decided to enter the next edition without English batsman Jason Roy, wicketkeeper Alex Carey, leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and seamer Mohit Sharma.
Malinga had been a prominent part of MI’s title-winning campaigns in the past though he was not there last time due to personal reasons.

Under Smith’s captaincy, inaugural edition champions RR finished last in the 2020 IPL when the star Australian batsman played all the 14 league matches, scoring 311 runs at a strike rate of 131, including three half-centuries.
Ahead of the 2018 IPL, Smith was the only player retained by the Royals for Rs 12.5 crore. The same year, he was appointed as the captain.
However, his impact came under the scanner after the team’s disastrous outing in the UAE last year.
“I am excited about the challenge that lies ahead of me as the leader of the team,” said new captain Samson.
“The Royals have had some wonderful captains over the years and I’m so grateful for all the time I’ve spent working with and learning from great leaders like Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith!! I now cannot wait to get started and look forward to the season ahead.”
The seasoned Raina was retained by the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK notwithstanding his sudden departure from the last IPL in the UAE.
It is believed the three-time winners decided to continue with Raina in order to bolster the batting order that struggled during a forgettable last season, which culminated in a seventh-place finish and a league-stage elimination for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2008.
The left-handed Raina has been an integral part of the Super Kings from the beginning, emerging as their highest scorer while guiding them to two IPL titles.
Stoinis made useful contributions in the 2020 edition and helped the Capitals reach their first-ever IPL final.
Batting mostly in the middle order, he amassed 352 runs at an average of 25.14 and a strike rate of 148.52.
With the ball, he took 13 wickets at an economy of 9.53.
With Rs 15 lakh left, the Super Kings had the smallest purse after the last auction and this would significantly improve for next month’s auction. Kings XI Punjab had the largest at Rs 16.5 crore before Wednesday.
Before Wednesday’s releases, Rajasthan Royals had Rs 14.75 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad (10.1 crore), Delhi Capitals (9 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (6.4 crore), and Mumbai Indians (1.95 crore).

The franchise has released six players which include two Indian and four overseas players. Indian duo Mohit Sharma and Tushar Deshpande, West Indies’ Keemo Paul, Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, Australia’s Alex Carey and England’s Jason Roy have all been released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 auction.
Retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Lalit Yadav, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Daniel Sams
Released: Mohit Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Keemo Paul, Sandeep Lamichhane, Alex Carey, Jason Roy.

Australia limited-overs skipper Finch and England all-rounder Moeen Ali along with South Africa’s Chris Morris have been shown the door.

RCB’s retained players: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pawan Deshpande.
Released players: Aaron Finch, Gurkeerat Mann, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel, Isuru Udana, Umesh Yadav and Pawan Negi.
Earlier this month, pacer Dale Steyn had announced that he would not be available for selection for IPL 2021 and as a result, he has also been released.

RCB had made it to the playoffs of the IPL 2020 season but the side had to face a loss in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Virat Kohli-led side has not been able to win the IPL title even once, but the side has made it to the finals thrice.