IPL 2018: Top 5 players who are NOT playing this season

2) Steven Smith

Steven Smith is one of the best batsmen in the world

The captain of the Australian national cricket team and the top-ranked batsmen in Test cricket, Smith is considered to be the greatest batsman of this generation. After his brilliant performance in the recently concluded Ashes, cricket pundits were even comparing him to Sir Don Bradman.

Smith was one of the most highly respected and popular cricketers in the world, but it all changed in a matter of minutes. During the third day of the third Test against South Africa, Cameron Bancroft was caught rubbing sandpaper on the ball. In the press conference that followed, Smith accepted that he already knew about the ball-tampering and that it was planned by the leadership group which included him too.

After this revelation, Smith faced sever backlash from the media and the fans. He was handed a one-match ban by the ICC, after which he was banned by Cricket Australia for 12 months. In the wake of the verdict, Smith was banned from playing in IPL 11 too.

What happened was totally unfortunate, and it's hard to believe that fans won't be seeing him play in this season of the IPL.