Aaron Finch speaks out on Australian players’ participation in IPL

Dark clouds are looming over the participation of Australian players in the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The gala T20 tournament was suspended midway on May 4 after multiple players and staff members contracted the COVID-19 virus. As confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the remaining matches will be conducted in UAE. However, the involvement of the Aussie stars is uncertain.

While Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pace spearhead Pat Cummins is understood to have pulled out of the remaining season, several other Aussie stars could miss the flight to UAE due to their busy international calendar. IPL’s likely September-October window is sandwiched between Australia’s tour of West Indies and the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Hence, it won’t be a surprise if other Aussie players follow Cummins.

I haven’t thought about Australian players participation in the remaining IPL 2021: Aaron Finch

Speaking on the matter, Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch said he hasn’t thought about the issue but believes Cricket Australia will look at each player’s case individually.

“I have honestly not thought about it. I would imagine it would be conducted on a case-by-case basis by Cricket Australia,” Finch told Sportstar.

Further in the conversation, Finch even hinted that Cricket Australia might opt for England’s controversial rotation policy to manage players’ workload amid the jam-packed schedule.

“I don’t think the players themselves like resting from international cricket. But definitely, with the increased squad sizes due to COVID-19 bubbles, there are a lot of players on tours. So we will need to look at options to ensure these players are playing games,” the 34-year-old added.

Meanwhile, Finch, who played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020, went unsold in this year’s auction. However, many of his teammates, including Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, are part of IPL 2021, and he won’t want anyone of them to be drained out ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Finch and his team will next travel to the Caribbean Islands for five T20Is and three ODIs against West Indies, starting on July 9. Later, they will tour Bangladesh for five-match T20I series. It will be Australia’s last limited-overs assignment before the T20 World Cup, and the Men in Yellow would want to identify their best combination for the marquee tournament.