Aaron Finch has replaced Alex Hales in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad.
Hales decided to opt out of the cash-rich tournament citing bubble fatigue and the Kolkata-based franchise then named Finch as his replacement.
KKR will be Finch’s ninth IPL team and he is excited to test himself against the best. The Australian captain also revealed that his wife was very supportive as they had a holiday planned before he got a late call-up to play for Kolkata.
“Good question. There’s one team I’m missing a shirt from but I can’t remember which one,” Finch told cricket.com.au when asked if he has got all eight of his IPL caps.
“I was at dinner with my wife. I wrote back to (KKR coach) Brendon McCullum before I’d flagged it with Amy. Every time we plan a holiday, something has come up and the last six years – the last two with COVID made it difficult – something has happened at the last minute. She wasn’t surprised but very supportive. Her and Esther will come over to India at some point,” he further said.
“The ability to continue to train and play over there will be really important. The competition is tough. Guys continuing to test themselves, guys who haven’t been over testing themselves against the best is really important,” he added.
KKR will begin their IPL 2022 campaign against CSK in the tournament opener on March 26.