Aaron Finch has been a part of Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2010 and missed only two seasons. Finch has not lived up to the high expectations but franchises have been interested in his services almost every IPL auction. As a result, Finch has represented eight franchises so far and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be his ninth. Ahead of the 10-team tournament, Finch joked about the number of IPL jerseys he has donned so far.
"Good question. There's one team I am missing a shirt from but I can't remember which one," the 35-year-old told cricket.com.au.
"I was at dinner with my wife and I wrote back to (KKR head coach) Brendon McCullum before I'd flagged it with Amy. Every time we plan a holiday, something has come up. In the last six years - obviously, the two with Covid made it a bit difficult - every time we've made a holiday plan something has happened at the last minute. She wasn't surprised but very supportive. She and Esther (their daughter) will come over to India at some point (sic)," the destructive opener added.
Initially, Australia's T20 World Cup 2021-winning captain was not picked in the IPL 2022 mega auction but he was roped in by KKR after English opener Alex Hales pulled out of the upcoming 10-team tournament.
So far, Finch has played in 87 IPL games and scored 2,005 runs at an average of 25.70 including 14 half-centuries. The list of franchises he has represented include Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Sunrisers Hyderabad and now defunct franchises Pune Warriors and Gujarat Lions.
"The ability to continue to train and play over there would be very important. The competition is tough. I think guys continuing to test themselves, guys who haven't been over before testing themselves against the best is really important,” he concluded.
Finch is likely to open the innings with Venkatesh Iyer under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer until and unless KKR consider Ajinkya Rahane as their first-choice opener. However, he will miss the first week of IPL 2022 as he will be leading Australia against Pakistan in the limited-overs series.
