'He’s a fighter' : Aaron Finch puts his weight behind David Warner to lit up T20 International Cup

Australia T20I captain Aaron Finch has put his weight behind David Warner to come good in the International T20I Cup. Warner is going through a severe lean patch and was barely able to get going in the few matches he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL before getting dropped from the team. However, Finch has backed the southpaw to fire in the showpiece event saying he is a fighter and has always come out on top with his back against the wall.

“Over the years we’ve seen when he’s got his back against the wall, he’s a fighter. I’ve got no issues with the preparation he’s had,” Finch said.

“He’s come here in great spirits, he’s come here with a great attitude and that’s rubbing off on the boys. He’s organising things behind the scenes, he’s doing everything that he loves to do. I’ve got no issues and come game one he’ll be ready to go.”

Australia will go into the T20 Cup having lost their last two series against West Indies and Bangladesh. Also, the conditions will be a challenge for them. While five of their players are part of the IPL, only Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood have played all games for their franchises. The rest of the contingent is coming from the Australian winter and dealing with the scoring heat of UAE won’t be easy. However, Finch said the team is prepared to take on the challenges.

“We understand the conditions have been pretty brutal over the last couple of weeks,” Finch said.

“The guys in the IPL are match hardened and used to them, the guys from Australia are off the back of a really strong pre-season with their state team. I think it should be fine. It has its challenges right across the board with the heat, but I’m sure all teams will be OK with it.”

Ahead of the T20 tournament, there were doubts about Finch’s participation in the event owing to a knee injury he sustained on the West Indies tour. However, the skipper recovered quick enough to be part of the squad. Finch revealed he is raring to go and will be available for the warm-up games.

“Originally, it was touch and go to be available for the two warm-up games,” he said.

“But at the moment it looks like there’ll be no problems, so looking forward to getting out and back into it.”