Pune: Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) has announced that Australian cricket captain Steve Smith will take over as skipper of the team from Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the 2017 and 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
RPS won only five of their 14 matches in the IPL 9 under Dhoni, finishing seventh. It may be recalled that the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions topped the table last year.
Sources said that Dhoni has been informed of the decision by the franchise.
Dhoni has reportedly said that he will give his full co-operation to Smith in the coming season of the IPL.
Dhoni is one of the three captains to have won the cash-rich T20 league twice. He led Chennai Super Kings for nine editions starting from the league's inaugural season in 2008.
Under him, CSK won the IPL in 2010 and 2011 while the Champions League in 2010 and 2014.
