Aaron Finch

Aaron James Finch, Australian International cricketer is a top-order batsman and has represented his country in all formats of the game. Known for his hard-hitting, Finch earned his spot in Australia's U-19 team for the World Cup in 2006. He is the epitome of an aggressive style of batting who has been captaining Australian white-ball teams since 2018. 

Finch had a prolific junior World Cup where he batted in the middle order and compiled a total of 155 runs from five games. After the ICC event, the youngster made his first-class debut for Victoria against touring India. Finch played the whole season for the state team and emerged as a promising middle-order bat. He scored his maiden FC century against Tasmania and starred in their title win. His performance in the season was spotted by IPL scouts and the Australian was picked by the Rajasthan IPL franchise, where he got just one game, in 2010. 

Despite not being a regular in IPL, Finch earned a reputation as a power-hitter who grew in the franchise T20 league. He played in the Champions League T20 tournament in South Africa in 2010, which helped him bag a US 300,000 worth contract by Delhi Daredevils for IPL 2011. Finch was also been a member of the Melbourne Renegades since the club's inception and has been their captain since the BBL|02. 

As Finch’s career in the league cricket progressed, he became a crowd-puller, and hence, was promoted up the order. He made his international debut in 2011, in the shortest format, against England at Adelaide Oval. However, it wasn’t until 2013 since he has been a regular feature for Australia in the shorter formats. Finch grabbed eye-balls when he smashed England all over the park in a T20I on his way to a sensational 63-ball 156, the then highest individual score in that format. Five years later, he bettered his own world record by smacking a 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018. 

As Finch cemented his spot as an opener, he paired with David Warner to form one of the most attacking opening pairs in world cricket. In 2014, Finch was named Australia’s  T20I captain, before getting replaced by Steve Smith in 2016. He was also part of Australia’s world-winning team during the 2015 World Cup. A year later, when Australia was white-washed by India at home, the selectors decided to replace Finch as skipper with the then Test and ODI skipper, Smith. 

In 2018, when Australian cricket was punctured by the “sandpaper gate”, the national selectors looked back on Finch again. He was named the white-ball skipper and was awarded the Baggy Green as well. The opener made his Test debut against Pakistan in Dubai in 2018. On debut, Finch scored a 62 and 49 in testing conditions against an all-round Pakistan attack. He later played another Test on the tour of UAE. However, a much tougher challenge was awaiting. Later that year, when India toured Australia, Finch had an under-par series. He scored just a single fifty in three matches and was dropped from the team in the fourth Test. 

The 2019 World Cup was Finch’s first as a captain and his second overall, after having been a part of Australia’s victorious campaign in 2015. Finch led his country from the very front and scored 507 runs that included two centuries and three half-centuries. However, his inspiring effort fell short as the defending champions were knocked out by the eventual winners, England, in the semifinal of the World Cup. 

Over the years, Finch has been a part of many IPL Teams and been successful in every position he batted. He played for more than half-a-dozen IPL teams, as well as for Yorkshire and Surrey in England. He also captained the Renegades to their first BBL title in 2019. Finch's main mission would be to lift the maiden World T20 title for Australia, which can be accomplished as two T20 World Cups are to be played in 2021 and 2022. 

(As of June 2021)