Robin Uthappa is excited to play with Steve Smith and Kerala teammate Sanju Samson for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020.

Uthappa has been a part of as many as 7 IPL franchises in the past. He has now found a new team in Rajasthan Royals for the IPL in 2020 as he was bought for INR 3 crores. During his tenure with the Rising Pune Supergiants, he shared the dressing room with Australian batsman Steve Smith. He is now looking forward to play with the Aussie again.

He said, “I wasn't aware of what was happening at the auction as I was batting. I was told about this after the match and I am excited at playing for Rajasthan Royals, especially with Steve Smith.”

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Uthappa was playing for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy and came to know about his signing after the end of day’s play. He is also excited to play in the same team as his Kerala teammate Sanju Samson. He also reminisced his time with the Kolkata Knight Riders and the love KKR fans showered on him.

“I had played with him before and I am looking forward to sharing the dugout with Sanju. I played six seasons for Kolkata. It has been an exciting journey for me. The people in Kolkata loved me and I am thankful to them,” he added.

The 34-year-old also mentioned world-class players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes that the Royals possess and is keen to play with them as well.

“I know quite a lot of players personally, so it won't be a problem for me to play for a new team. I am keen to play alongside Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes,” he said.

(Inputs from The Hindu)