Aaron Finch explains why he was dropped from Australia's ODI squad
What’s the story?
Having been dropped from Australia’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan, opener Aaron Finch shed light into the selectors’ thought-process and conceded that he was the one to blame for his exclusion.
Finch said, “I was disappointed but I can't really kick cans. I haven't made many runs in the last couple of series. It's something like 215 runs in 10 hits and that's just not really good enough when you have guys performing well in the BBL (Big Bash League) and the Matador Cup. Of course, I'm disappointed but I have no one to blame but myself.”
On his conversation with the interim head of the selection panel, he elaborated, “They just said make some more runs. When Trevor (Hohns) rang me, I just said 'I can't disagree with you, which is the sad thing'. Usually, when you're dropped, you want to be able to fire back some bullets but I had absolutely nothing.”
In case you didn’t know...
Earlier in the day, Australia announced a 14-member squad for the Pakistan series. Finch as well as George Bailey were dropped from the team while Usman Khawaja earned a recall. The selectors also rewarded Chris Lynn for his dazzling form in the Big Bash.
The heart of the matter
Finch had been an integral part of the Australian limited-overs fortunes by forming a dangerous opening combination with David Warner. However, his recent form was patchy with only 655 runs from 25 ODIs at an average of 28.47.
He struggled badly in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with scores of 0, 19 and 3 even as the Aussies inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on New Zealand. Acknowledging the importance of an opening batsman in the modern-day white-ball game, the 30-year old hoped to get back into his groove in the Big Bash season.
What next?
The five-match ODI series between Australia and Pakistan will take place from the 13th to the 26th. Upon its completion, the Aussies are set to travel to New Zealand for 3 ODIs before returning home for 3 T20Is against Sri Lanka. As for Finch, the ongoing Big Bash edition presents a solid chance to put forward his case. After a half-century in the tournament opener, he has not been able to convert starts to meaningful contributions.
Sportskeeda’s take
The selectors did the right thing in having a chat with Finch and explaining why he had to be dropped from the team. As a result, the opener would know what is expected of him in the immediate future. Despite them missing his experience, Australia’s ODI squad still boasts a strong batting lineup especially in home conditions and should back themselves to trounce a struggling Pakistani outfit.