Aaron Finch backs David Warner to fire in T20 International Cup despite poor run in IPL

Australia T20I skipper Aaron Finch has backed David Warner to fire in the T20 International Cup despite being out of touch in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The last month has been tough on Warner who was dropped from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team owing to his poor run.

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Also, he was barred from travelling with the team and had to watch matches from his hotel room. Warner has not played a lot of cricket in the build-up to the showpiece event and has only a couple of games and few net sessions under his belt.

Finch though has backed the destructive opener to come good in the tournament. The skipper revealed that Warner is in good spirits since linking up with the Australia team in Dubai.

“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.

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“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.”

The road to their maiden T20 Cup title won't be easy for Australia. As many as five Australians are part of the IPL but barring Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell, others have not got enough opportunities. Meanwhile, the conditions will also be tough for the Australians given that most of the players are coming from the Australian winter and the scorching heat of UAE will take a toll on them. However, Finch played down the challenges and said the team will cope up with them.

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

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“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.”

Finch also confirmed his availability for the warm-up games. The skipper has not played for a while owing to a knee injury.

“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.”