Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) may have dropped struggling David Warner from the playing XI during the recently concluded IPL 2021, but Australia skipper Aaron Finch feels that the southpaw would be ready to go at the T20 World Cup.
Australia will open their T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 23) and Finch expects Warner to come out all guns blazing.
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“I am backing Davy’s ability and judgement," Finch said on the eve of the South Africa game.
“If you look at his World Cup history, it’s bloody good and would he like more runs? Absolutely. He is one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced and I have no doubts that come game one, he will be absolutely fired and ready to go," he added.
Talking about his recovery from a knee injury, the Australian captain said it was quicker than expected.
“I am feeling really good and knee is feeling great. In fact, I am feeling better than what I thought it would be as I was able to play the two warm-up games against New Zealand and India which was crucial.
“Getting a few in the middle (of the bat) was nice, everyone is in nice space, we are really excited to kick it off tomorrow," the 34-year-old said.
While Finch didn’t reveal the playing XI, he informed that his team is going in with seven specialist batters, which will also have three all-rounders in Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell.
“We are going in with seven specialist batters, four specialist bowlers plus the all-rounders. We have got a lot of confidence in the depth of our squad and a lot of confidence in Maxwell, Stoinis and Marsh that they will be able to bowl out the fours overs between them. On these wickets and in these conditions, they can really do a good job and attack well," he said.
Finch is happy that four of Australia’s five Super 12 fixtures are afternoon matches as due won’t be a factor in the eventual outcome of the game.
“We expect it to be pretty good as it has always been the case over here. Being a day game, it could be touch on the slower side, but a great surface and beautiful place to play actually," he said.
The skipper acknowledged that batting in Powerplays would become crucial in most games.
“We have seen in IPL teams that won Powerplays went a long way in winning the games, wickets first off in the tournament will start out a little bit better, but as tournament gets deeper, it might slow up and spin a little bit more," he said.
When asked if a player like Steve Smith, who anchors the innings, becomes more important on surfaces like these, Finch replied: “Any time Smith bats, it’s great to watch. He is someone so versatile and he is adaptable to all conditions. He can resurrect a team and take them to a good total. He is a world-class player."
(With PTI inputs)
