Australia suffered a setback after Josh Inglis was ruled out of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup with a hand injury. Meanwhile, David Warner might don the wicketkeeping gloves if Matthew Wade gets injured.
Defending champion Australia has received a setback after wicketkeeper Jos Inglis was ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 with a freak hand injury. While no replacement has been announced for him, the Australian management is concerned about who could be Matthew Wade's back-up if the primary keeper gets injured. However, as per Australian skipper Aaron Finch, explosive senior opener David Warner is trained to take the role if any unforeseen circumstance arrives. While Finch is also a specialised keeper, he ruled himself out of the role due to knee issues, while Warner is already training with the gloves.
"Probably Davey Warner, I would think. He did a little bit of practice yesterday [Thursday]. Maybe, I could do it. Maybe, captaining and keeping when you haven't done it before is a little tougher. Mitchell Starc can bowl a few upfronts, take the gloves through the middle, and then bowl again at the end," said Finch during the pre-match presser ahead of Saturday's opener against New Zealand, reports IANS.
"It's a good question. Probably Davey, to be honest. And, as I said, that's a risk we're prepared to take now. I certainly didn't [keep during the training session]. No, I didn't. I reckon my knees and everything are getting a little bit old for keeping," added Finch.
On being asked if his side was under pressure as the defending champion, especially as hosts, Finch ascribed, "No, we don't -- well, I certainly haven't read anything or listened to anything about anything external because you can't control that. If you allow yourself to be wrapped up in it [pressure], then you're not focusing 100 per cent on what's right in front of you, and that's important for our team."
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"If you look back and down at our list, we've got guys who are intuitive and proactive in T20 cricket. So, you never want to take that away by putting one per cent of doubt in anybody's mind or taking the focus off anything. We spoke the other day about what we wanted the environment to be if you take winning out of the equation because every team wants to win," continued Finch.
"That's a given. In professional sports, every team wants to win. So what does our environment look like if you take that off the table? We must play in the moment and enjoy the ride because it's a tough competition, and you'll have to be at your best. Don't allow yourself to be dragged down or your focus to be shifted from what's right in front of you," Finch concluded.