Aaron Finch opens up on being sacked as Australia's T20 captain
Former Australian T20 captain started 2016 as the top ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game. Little did he know at that stage that he would not even get the opportunity to represent his country in all their matches at the ICC World Twenty20, let alone captain the side.
A hamstring injury in the last match of the T20I series against India earlier this year forced Finch out of action and cast a shadow on his hopes of playing the T20 World Cup. But the worst was yet to come for the burly Aussie as he was soon replaced as skipper of the T20I side by Steve Smith.
Speaking to cricket.com.au about his removal as captain, Aaron Finch said, "I got a quick phone call from (national selection chairman) Rod Marsh, I think he was in New Zealand at the time. It's not something I saw coming, to be honest. We'd had a good couple of months lead-up chatting about the side and the squad, the make-up of the team and how we were going to look to play in that time."
"I was very disappointed and I was looking forward to leading an Australian team into a world tournament. Disappointing and frustrated but at the same time I totally understand why they did it," he said of his reaction on the decision by Cricket Australia.
Even though Finch was recuperating earlier than expected from his injury, his sacking as captain of the Australian T20I team led to doubts in his mind on his future in the playing XI. On this, he stated, "Of course I felt like it (his spot in the XI) was under threat. But similarly with the captaincy, they (the selectors) pick a team they think can win the game."
The opening batsman, however, claims to be holding no grudges on the matter. "I hold nothing against anyone for making that decision. It's just part of the game; when you've got a lot of good players they can't all fit into one batting line-up. When you've been out through injury and guys come in and do well – 'Uzzie' (Usman Khawaja) had an unbelievable Big Bash and deserved to play some role in the batting line-up," Finch added.
Having recovered completely from his injury, Aaron Finch made it back to the Australian squad and was named to play in the World Twenty20. However, a few minutes before Australia's opening match against New Zealand, the right-hander found himself out of the final XI.
"I was absolutely expecting to play. I think I found out five minutes before (the XI was named). I was putting my boots on to go out and warm up because the day before we hadn't seen the wicket and I found out then. They let us know early it was going to be a late team decision and unfortunately it didn't go my way that time," said Finch.
But the hard-hitting batsman was not undone by all this and continued to wait for his chance. He stated, "But you move on and you just keep training and making sure you're in a good space when your time does come. What it all boils down to is they don't have to justify anything. They're paid to pick a team and they picked the team they thought that could win that game." Finch's patience paid off as he played two matches in the T20 World Cup against Pakistan and India respectively.
About how it felt for a No. 1 ranked batsman to sit out of the team, Aaron Finch clarified, "I don't a think a ranking has anything to do with it to be honest because they change so much. Whether you're ranked No.1 or No.100 they pick a side to win a game and that's what they did. To me that didn't make any difference. It probably made more difference to people on the outside looking in."
Presently, Finch is participating in the 9th edition of the Indian Premier League and has been the best batsman for his franchise, the Gujarat Lions.