Steve Smith has stepped down as captain of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, with the shamed batsman no certainty to take up his lucrative $2.4 million deal.
Smith, reeling from the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town, has handed the Rajasthan captaincy over to Ajinkya Rahane.
The Royals are yet to make it clear whether Smith will take part in the Twenty20 competition that starts on April 7.
It's understood the world's top-ranked Test batsman, who was set to travel straight to India after the four-Test series in South Africa, is strongly considering the merits of sacrificing his most profitable contract ever.
David Warner, who captains Sunrisers Hyderabad, could also come under pressure to step down from his IPL leadership post as more emerges about the role Australia's vice-captain played in the ball-tampering discussion with Smith.
