"No batsman is immune from being dropped" - Mark Waugh hints at Aaron Finch losing his spot
Mark Waugh believes Australia's white-ball captain Aaron Finch is not immune from being dropped. The opener failed yet again after scoring a 14-ball 12 when the visitors were chasing 220 for victory in the second T20I against New Zealand on Thursday. The Kiwis went on to win the tight encounter by just four runs.
Aaron Finch will be under severe pressure to perform in the remaining three matches of the T20I series. Former Aussie batsman Mark Waugh explained that although Finch might be a good captain, the latter's primary job is to score runs.
"His job is to score runs. It doesn’t matter; there’s a lot of players who can captain. There’s Matthew Wade; there’s Mitch Marsh; there’s Moises Henriques. His primary job is to score runs, particularly when you’re opening. That’s a key position in T20 cricket, and we’ve got a lot of good players on the periphery to open. He’ll know it. No batsman is immune from being dropped when you’re not scoring runs. Doesn’t matter if you’re captain or not," Waugh said on Fox Cricket.
Waugh further added in this regard:
"I’m not saying it (Finch getting dropped) will happen, but no one’s irreplaceable. There’s no way the selectors will want to drop him, but his destiny is in his own hands.”
Aaron Finch averages just 15 in his last 26 T20 innings and has a meagre strike rate of 110. The Australian has failed to score a fifty in the said time. His captaincy hasn't been too inspiring either, as the Aaron Finch-led Melbourne Renegades finished rock-bottom in the recently-concluded BBL.
Marcus Stoinis backs Aaron Finch
Experts and former cricketers might be raising question marks over Aaron Finch, but Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis backed the opener to come good. He even branded Australia's white-ball captain as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world.
"There's just full confidence that he's going to perform for us; I just see it as a long-term picture because come the World Cup, we need him firing. He's arguably the best 20-20 batter in the world over a long period of time. His record so good. He's our captain. In our heads, we just trust him," Stoinis said after Australia's defeat in second T20I against New Zealand.
Aaron Finch went unsold at the IPL 2021 Auction, owing to his poor recent performances. With the T20 World Cup set to take place in India later this year, the Australian selectors will want the 34-year-old to find some form soon.