Australian right-handed high enterprising batsmen Aaron Finch is all set to miss Kings XI Punjab”s opening match of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) as he is due to get married to partner Amy Griffiths on April 7.
The 31-year-old was purchased by KXIP for Rs 6.2 crore at the IPL 2018 auction in Bengaluru this January. Not only that, Finch”s close friend and another big-hitting batsman Glenn Maxwell will also miss the start of IPL and the first game in particular for Delhi Daredevils. He was sold in auctions to them but as he has been appointed as the Master of Ceremonies in the wedding he is set to miss the opening fixture.
Aron Finch was quoted saying “I saw the fixture this morning – there”s no chance I”ll be missing my wedding. That”d be a bit tough leaving Amy at the altar, wouldn”t it? The second game we play is on the 13th, that”ll give me plenty of time to get over there and miss only one game luckily,”
Maxwell, who played for Kings XI Punjab for four years, will now feature for DD after being purchased by the franchise for a huge amount of Rs 9 crore during the auction last month.
IPL 2018 will kick-start from April 7 and the Australian duo mistakenly thought that the cash-rich tournament will get underway at a later date. KXIP will take on DD in their opening clash on April 9 at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi.
Very interestingly, both the IPL franchisees Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab are coached by two former Australians who share a good reputation and tuning with Finch and Maxwell. Ricky Ponting will mentor Daredevils while Brad Hodge has a three-year contract with KXIP.
“This is an interesting one and I haven’t told anyone this before, not even Punter(Ricky Ponting) -we”ve got Aaron Finch”s wedding on April 7,” Maxwell was quoted saying. “They said the IPL was going to start on the April 15th – he thought the dates were set but we found out about three months ago it was going to start on the eighth.”
Finch, however, will get another shot to lock horns with Maxwell later in this year”s IPL when KXIP host DD in Indore on April 23.
The news was quite funny and yet shows the close bond both Aron Finch and Glenn Maxwell share with each other as close friends.