Indian Premier League:
Steve Smith was first bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore at IPL 2010 as a replacement for Jesse Ryder.
During the 2011 IPL player auction, Steve Smith was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $200,000. But he had to undergo an ankle operation was not available to play for them that season. The next season, Kochi Tuskers got disbanded from the IPL. As a result, Steve Smith was put up for auction, but went unsold at the 2012 IPL Players Auction. But he was brought as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh in the Pune Warriors India team.
In his first match for the Pune Warriors India, he scored 39 runs off 32 balls to lead his team to victory against the Mumbai Indians. He received the Man of the match award for this effort.
In the auction for IPL 2014, Smith was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs.4.1 crore which was the expensive buy for the franchise in the auction.