Vice-Captain, Aaron Finch To Miss Opening T20I Of Tri-Series

Australia opener, Aaron Finch, will be missing the first T20I of the tri-series against England and New Zealand, skipper David Warner confirmed on the eve of the game. Finch is yet to recover from the hamstring injury, which saw him missing the last two ODIs of the series against England. Glenn Maxwell replaced him for the last two ODIs and also went on to play the final game.

Finch’s unavailability could see either Glenn Maxwell batting top of the order or D’Arcy Short making his debut. Maxwell has opened in past and also scored a century in the first T20I of the series against Sri Lana in 2016. In the two games, he opened the innings there, Maxwell played an innings of 145* and 66. However, he has come under scanner recently and might not be given the job to open along with the captain.

D’Arcy Short, the second contender, is currently the highest run-scorer (504 runs) in the ongoing Big Bash League and chances of him making debut look bright. He got his maiden international call-up for this series.

He also hit jackpot in the IPL auction when he was purchased by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of Rs 4 Crore. Maxwell too was one of the big gainers and drew a deal worth Rs 9 Crore with Delhi Daredevils.

The opener in the first T20I will automatically make way for Finch – vice-captain for the series – as soon as he will making a comeback to the side.

The T20I tri-series starts tomorrow (February 3) with Australia taking on New Zealand. The first three games of the series will be played in Australia while the last four games, including the final, will be played in New Zealand.

The Kiwis will travel to Australia for just one game before going back to host the two countries. Post the completion of the tri-series, New Zealand will also host England for five ODIs and two Test matches.

Meanwhile, England will be without Joe Root in the T20I series. England’s Test captain had already withdrawn from the series last month. He also went unsold in the IPL auction, along with Eoin Morgan, the ODI captain of England.

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (VC), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

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