Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Aaron Finch has had a bright start to life with the two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions. After scoring just seven in his first match for Kolkata against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Finch scored a quickfire 58 runs off 28 balls.
In a recent interview with kkr.in, Australia's limited-overs skipper was full of praise for countryman Pat Cummins' batting, and also revealed that his nickname back home is 'IPL Pat,' "Absolutely, I was taken aback by it! We call him IPL Pat because he bats a lot better in IPL than he does for Australia.
"He’s played some great innings for KKR and he works hard on his batting so it was great to see him continue that aggressive mindset batting at number seven to come out and keep swinging hard from ball one and change the momentum of the game, it was brilliant," he added.
Finch also heaped praise on the IPL and added that missing the opportunity to play in the league makes a cricketer nervous. "It’s just a great competition to be a part of and I think when you’re not here you miss it. To have the chance to train and play with the best players in the world consistently I think makes everyone better. So that’s what you miss the most and that’s what you get most nervous about, maybe missing the opportunity sometimes," he said.
Having not been signed initially during the IPL mega auction, Finch joined the Knight Riders after Alex Hales pulled out of the league. Recalling the moment he was informed of the team's decision, Finch said, "Of course, that’s correct. Yeah. But when Baz [Head Coach Brendon McCullum] called to offer me to join KKR, I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity."
The 35-year-old opener went on to explain that KKR's aggressive batting has to be the benchmark for every player in the team, without which the tactic might fail, "I think it’s super important that everyone’s bought into the plan because if you have one person who doesn’t then the whole thing can fall. So what we have seen so far is the ability for everybody to have bought into that is superb and shows the flexibility of the team but also the keenness for everyone to do well."
He also believes that it takes a single player to win the match, and KKR have many game-changers in their team, "I love that style of cricket because those days when it doesn’t happen for you but all it takes is one person to change the game. And we have got so many game-changers in the XI or the squad."
