Odean Smith’s performance in this season of the IPL match series has been rather bewildering. Smith has left Aakash Chopra mystified with his gameplay in the six matches that his team has played so far. Odean is a right-handed bowler and all-rounder and this year he is playing for the team Punjab Kings.
Aakash, cricketer-turned-commentator, expressed that the 25-year-old player’s returns are so ambiguous that it’s tough to determine whether he is a benefit or a burden to the Punjab team. Smith was acquired by the Punjab Kings for 6 crore rupees after the franchise got impressed by his significant scores during the limited-overs series between the West Indies and India before the auction in February.
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Odeon has been featured in all of the six matches Punjab Kings has played this season and has made 51 runs at a strike rate of 115.90. With his fast-medium pace, he has managed to dismiss six batters at an economy rate of just under 12.
Punjab Kings currently stands at the seventh position with six points and has won 3 out of the six matches it has played. PBKS is standing against Delhi Capitals for the 32nd match of this IPL in Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Chopra expressed his thoughts on Smith on his YouTube channel prior to the match, saying, “Odean Smith is a big mystery for Punjab Kings. It is difficult to figure out whether to keep him on the team or not because one is not sure if he is doing well or badly. No one has got any idea what Odean Smith is exactly bringing to the table. He is very expensive with the ball, but then also picks up four wickets. He hits sixes or gets hit for sixes.”
Smith has been struggling to get going with the bat in the last overs of Punjab’s previous encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. He hit one six but was out for 13 off 15 balls.
And on the bowling side, he bowled and sent down one over and gave up eight runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad easily took the trophy home by seven wickets. Odean’s performance so far has been a mix of good and bad. But with an average run rate of 17, Smith has not been able to help the team in improving the rankings
