Australian skipper Aaron Finch feels players who have pulled out of the upcoming white-ball cricket tour will “find it hard to justify” featuring in the second half of IPL 2021 which will take place in the UAE ahead of the T20 World Cup in September & October.
The Australian limited-overs skipper said that he was surprised to see that players like Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, and Marcus Stoinis have decided not to be part of the Bangladesh and West Indies tour.
Captain Finch disclosed that it was a “long-term plan” for all-format players David Warner and Pat Cummins to miss the 3 ODI and 10 T20I matches which will take place in July and August at St Lucia, Barbados, and Bangladesh. Number 1 Test batsman Steve Smith was ruled out of the tour due to an elbow injury.
“The other guys – I was a little bit surprised,” Finch said on radio station SEN WA. “I’ve chatted to them all – a little bit surprised but it’s also understandable … but I wish that they were there.”
ICYMI: Australia's squad for their overseas tours has been finalised.
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Also, Daniel Sams and Kane Richardson who were part of Royal challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2021 made themselves unavailable for the West Indies and Bangladesh tour. Aaron Finch believes these international cricketers will find it hard to justify themselves if they fly to UAE for the remainder of IPL 2021.
“I think they would find it hard to justify going back and playing that second half of the IPL. Just purely based on the workload coming up with a T20 World Cup and a huge home summer.
“It’s really tough. It’s a tough situation that everyone has been put in, but personally, I would find it hard to do that knowing how difficult it is and how challenging it is mentally, and on your family as well. That’s what I would think.”
Golden opportunity for youngsters: Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch believes that star BBL players like Dan Christian, Ben McDermott, Wes Agar, and Riley Meredith now have a golden opportunity to book their permanent slots in Australia’s World Cup squad which could be at the expense of players who opted out of the international cricket tour.
“The guys who aren’t there have probably left the door slightly ajar,” said Finch, who does not hold an IPL deal. “What that looks like when the T20 World Cup comes around, we’ll have to wait and see.
“But if you can get on the international stage against a very good West Indies side and Bangladesh team (and perform well), it carries a lot of weight.”
Aaron Finch is expected to return for national duties soon after spending some good time with his family at home.
Australia’s squad for the upcoming tour: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.