Cricket has come to a grinding halt in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 24,000 lives and infected over 532,000 globally as of March 27.
With nothing much to update, sports platforms are coming up with new ideas to keep the fans engaged. While some are reliving past games, conducting virtual Test matches, some are giving the fans a glimpse of future.
On Friday (March 27), the official Twitter handle of 'Fox Cricket' took the fans to 2023 as it predicted Australia’s playing XI for the next 50-over World Cup.
Since the showpiece tournament is still four years away, there was one notable omission in the team. Fox Cricket left out Aaron Finch from the line-up, citing that Australia's current white-ball captain would be 36 by then.
Finch’s opening partner David Warner will also be 36-year-old in 2023 but the southpaw found a place in the squad as he is an "exception".
However, Warner wasn’t impressed with the pattern of prediction. He took to Twitter and wrote: "Baha @AaronFinch5 have you told them you’re retiring. Stiff, #Fakenews disappointing IMO.”
Notably, Finch was replaced by Josh Philippe in the XI. The 22-year-old has featured in 19 First-Class, 13 List A and 32 T20 games so far.
With Finch not in the line-up, Steve Smith has been shouldered with the responsibility to lead the side.
