Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer retained by Rajasthan Royals for IPL in 2020

Steve Smith has been reinstalled as captain after taking charge of the latter part of this year's edition

Rajasthan Royals have retained England trio Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer for next year's Indian Premier League.

Stokes, signed by the Royals in 2018 for £1.7 million, stays on alongside his World Cup-winning teammates Buttler and Archer for the 2020 edition.

Steve Smith has been installed as captain, having been restored to the position for the final six matches of last season after replacing Ajinkya Rahane.

Smith himself was stripped of the captaincy of the Royals amid the fallout from his involvement in the ball-tampering affair in Cape Town in March 2018, after which he was banned for 12 months and removed as Australia skipper.

"It's an honour to be named the Rajasthan Royals captain for the 2020 season," said Smith. "It’s been a pleasure leading the Royals in previous years and I can't wait to play alongside this extremely talented squad, plus those we pick up in the auction! 

"After a summer of some of the toughest cricket I can remember against the England boys in the World Cup and the Ashes I'm looking forward to having three of them on my team this time around. 

^{As part of his punishment for his part in the ball-tampering scandal, Steve Smith was banned from Australia's leadership positions for two years}

"Everyone knows that Ben, Jos and Jofra are three of the finest cricketers in the world so it is going to be a fantastic tournament teaming up with them." 

Head coach Andrew McDonald added: "England has some of the finest white-ball players in the world and there aren’t many better than Ben, Jos and Jofra. 

"We believe that retaining the likes of Jofra, Jos and Ben will be vital to the success of the team in the upcoming 2020 IPL season. 

"It’s a real statement from us to retain three World Cup winners and the key protagonists from the Ashes, adding Steve Smith to that, and we can’t wait to see them all in action together in Royals pink.”  

Krishnappa Gowtham, Dhawal Kulkarni and Liam Livingstone join Rahane out the exit-door at the Royals, who finished second bottom in this year's competition.

Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia and Ankit Rajpoot have all been traded in ahead of the draft scheduled to take place on December 19.

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