WATCH: Rising Pune Supergiant skipper Steve Smith woos fans by trying his hands at Marathi

Pune will kick off their campaign on April 6 against Mumbai Indians at Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium at home.

New Delhi: After a forgettable show in their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season last year, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) took a bold step when they replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the skipper of the team with Steve Smith.

The Australian has been in sensational form across formats and was also the hero with the bat in the recently concluded Test series against India where he slammed three centuries.

Given the popularity of the tournament, franchise owners try their best to build a huge fan base around their teams, which certainly plays a role while roping in sponsors.

After appointing him as the new skipper, RPS owners are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the Pune crowd rallies behind its team.

In a video shared on social media, Smith can be seen trying his hands at Marathi.

Steve Smith emotional connect with Puneites and that too in Local language Marathi pic.twitter.com/EEd7nZhf7Z — Sunandan Lele (@sunandanlele) April 4, 2017

RPS earlier shared Smith's photograph with Ajinkya Rahane on Twitter.

What do you think of @stevesmith49 's new Puneri avatar? We are loving it! pic.twitter.com/HnxV5dQR6a — RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) April 3, 2017

Pune will kick off their campaign on April 6 where they will take on Mumbai Indians at Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium at home.