Having played for seven different teams in the world’s most popular tournament – the Indian Premier League (IPL) – Aaron Finch might be a first choice for the franchisees who are looking for a destructive opener in the upcoming season.
The official players’ auction will take place in Kolkata on December 19, 2019.
Recently, the IPL franchises announced the list of their retained and released players. As the date of the auction is coming near, teams will be preparing to finalize their go-to-list of players. Some of the franchises may end their find of the opening batsman in the form of Finch as he has impressive records in T20 cricket.
In the T20 Internationals, Finch has scored nearly 1900 runs in 58 matches with two scintillating hundreds and 11 half-centuries. The thing to notice here is his strike-rate, which is above 150, and that is quite remarkable.
In ODIs, he averages above 40 and has scored 4559 runs in 115 innings with 15 tons and 24 fifties.
When it comes to IPL, Finch has played 75 matches and scored over 1700 runs with 13 fifties. This is enough to explain that the southpaw is quite familiar with the sub-continent conditions. He also has the ability to take the game away from the opposition.
So, let’s have a look at the teams which could bid for Finch in the 2020 IPL auction:
Kolkata Knight Riders
Ahead of the IPL 2020 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders released another Aussie opener Chris Lynn, so this may be a plan of the team to go for a different opener who can match-up with the potentials of Lynn. And what better option they can get than the Australian limited-overs captain Aaron Finch.
Since KKR doesn’t have an overseas player, who can bat at the top order, so it’s expected that they might go for Finch. Also, the conditions at the Eden Garden help the batters to score quick runs during the powerplay overs, and Finch favors it.
Rajasthan Royals
After releasing the top-order batsman, Ajinkya Rahane, Rajasthan Royals displayed their intentions clear as to what they want. Although Royals have overseas players like Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, who can be consistent with their batting, still they need a specific opener, and Aussie skipper fits in the said criteria.
Rajasthan finished at the second last spot in the last edition of IPL. So, they will be looking forward to witnessing a positive change on the side.
If the franchise takes Finch for the top order position, then it would help them to roar with more confidence.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli led-RCB had the worst outing in the 2019 season. This was the prime reason that they retained 12 players, but only two amongst them are overseas. Hence, RCB might go for Finch in the auction. The best thing for RCB is that they have a decent purse and also six available overseas spots.
There is no doubt that Challengers are relying heavily on Kohli and AB de Villiers, therefore, Finch’s addition can certainly solve this problem. The Aussie left-hander can give a different dimension to this line-up.
Finch has the potential to go after the bowling and tearing them in parts. The pitch at RCB’s home ground will also help him to go for the full monty.
