India vs Australia 2020-21: Aaron Finch backs Mayank Agarwal to replace Rohit Sharma

India are in Australia for a two-month gruelling tour, as they kick things off with the ODIs on Friday. Meanwhile, India are without the services of their senior opener Rohit Sharma. Nonetheless, Aaron Finch feels Mayank Agarwal is the ideal man to fill in for him.

Ayush Gupta

Sydney NSW, First Published Nov 26, 2020, 5:10 PM IST | Last Updated Nov 26, 2020, 5:10 PM IST

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Team India is all set to get its international campaign underway in the pandemic era, as it takes on Australia in the ODI series, starting Friday, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Nonetheless, India would be under pressure, on missing out of the services of senior opener Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a hamstring strain.

Yet, India still have a formidable squad, which bolsters tremendous young talent and have guys to replace him. Meanwhile, Australian skipper Aaron Finch has backed Mayank Agarwal to do so, owing to his dominant form.

"He is obviously a great player and someone who has had quite a bit of success against us in the past. It (Rohit's injury) is unfortunate. You want to play against the best players all the time, but whoever he is going to replace him, possibly Mayank, he has been in great form as well. So, you take away a lot of experience, but you also bring in another quality player," said Finch during the media interaction, reports PTI.

Speaking on Indian skipper Virat Kohli's form, Finch said, "He doesn't have too many to be honest. If you look at his record, it is second to none. We have to keep looking get him out. When you go away from that and look to contain players you can sort of miss a trick there. There are not too many chinks in his armour, he is probably the best one-day player of all time."

Speaking on his side, Finch expressed his satisfaction at the all-round talent and balance the side possesses. "I really like the balance of our side at the moment, don't get me wrong...What Maxi has shown in T20 cricket, in particular, is that his bowling keeps improving all the time and Stoinis has proved that as well, with the amount of exposure he has had over the past couple of years bowling in the death," he said.

"In England, we had three all-rounders, with Mitch, you can dissect the 10 overs a little bit easier, but you are still expecting when the fifth bowler combination is bowling it will still have an impact on the game. It is not about picking an all-rounder for the sake of it; it is also a key bowling spot as well," added Finch.

Speaking on the impact of bio-bubble on mental health, ahead of a crucial series, Finch reckoned by saying "In the current environment, it is really important to look after people's health as much as anything. Whether you just give them a couple of days off or week off just to get in their own bed is going to be crucial, but it will be case by case."

"As far as the rotation goes, I think it has come, go down, how they are feeling personally, whether it is mentally or physically. Guys are at totally different points in their preparation and workloads. Some guys are coming off a decent Sheffield start to the season and some are coming off T20 cricket. It is just about managing that," opined Finch.

Finch is coming off a poor form in the IPL. Nonetheless, he expressed his confidence for the upcoming series, as he quoted "I think, a combination of a couple of things, T20 cricket can be really difficult when you are not quite at your very best and when you are trying to be really aggressive at the start of an innings..."

"...I think that's a time when if it is not going 100 per cent, you can get into a pretty bad run quite quickly, but it's just a few balance things, head positioning and my stands and small things like that. It (changes) hasn't been anything huge, it is just a few steps that I would generally go to when things haven't been as smooth as I would have wanted," asserted Finch.

Finch also spoke on the limited crowd being allowed inside the venue, which would have a good impact. "Yes, absolutely, I think the last time we played in front of the crowds in Australia, was a long time ago, so the boys are excited and there has been a huge round of work that has gone on to allow that happen......the public, the amount of effort that people of every state have done to help the coronavirus get under control in each state, so we are really excited, we know how much great atmosphere it is going to bring," he concluded.