Kolkata names Finch as replacement for Hales

Australia's white ball skipper Aaron Finch has been roped in by Kolkata as replacement for Alex Hales. Earlier this month, Hales pulled out of the T20 competition citing bio bubble fatigue. Hales played for Thunders in Aus T20 League 2022, the team which was badly affected by COVID. Having played 13 games, Hales next T20 assignment was Pak T20 League where he played 7 games for Islamabad before pulling out due to the bubble fatigue. The english opener however returned for the qualifiers. 

Finch who didn't find any buyers in the Ind T20 League auction will now play for the defending champions at his original base price i.e. 1.5 cr. The english swashbuckler has been an integral part of this tournament. He started his journey in 2010 with Rajasthan before subsequently representing Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gujurat and Punjab. In his most recent campaign in 2020, Finch played for Bangalore under the leadership of Virat Kohli. 

Last year the 35 year led Australia to a famous World T20 Series victory, but personally had a terrible outing with the bat. He however made a strong comeback in the next T20 competiton (Aus T20 League) scoring 386 runs in 10 innings.

Last year's Ind T20 League finalists Kolkata and Chennai will cross swords in the tournament opener on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.