New Delhi: Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch has been named by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a replacement for England batter Alex Hales for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2022.
Hales has cited bio bubble fatigue as his reason for withdrawal from the tournament.
“I am sad to announce that I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming IPL. Having spent the last four months away from home in restrictive bio bubble’s and having tested positive for COVID myself in Australia, I don’t feel as though I can commit myself to another extended period within a secure environment,” Hales had said in a statement on Twitter.
Finch, who is Australia’s ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain would be joining KKR at INR 1.5 crore (USD 196,000 approx.), according to reports. Venky Mysore, the CEO and MD of Knight Riders, said that he and the team respect Hales’ decision, and welcomed Aron Finch for the forthcoming IPL.
(1/2) @VenkyMysore: "We respect Alex Hales' decision of choosing family and mental well-being over his participation in the upcoming season of the IPL. We will miss having him in the Galaxy of Knights this season, but we wish him all the best."
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 11, 2022
“We respect Alex Hales’ decision of choosing family and mental well-being over his participation in the upcoming season of the IPL. Bubble-life isn’t easy, and a number of players around the world have shared their views on this topic. We will miss having him in the Galaxy of Knights this season, but we wish him all the best,” Venky Mysore said in a official statement.
“We are delighted to welcome Aaron Finch, the T20 World Cup-winning captain, to the Knight Riders family. He is excited about joining the rest of the KKR squad in Mumbai and we look forward to benefiting from his vast experience,” Mysore added.
For Finch, this will be a record ninth IPL franchise as in the past, he has been with Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Pune Warriors India (PWI), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Mumbai Indians (MI), Gujarat Lions (GL), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The Aussie cricketer has played 87 IPL games bagging over 2000 runs at an average of 25.70 and a strike rate of 127.70 over the years. Seeing Hales’ replacement as Finch has surely got fans talking as it will be interesting to see if Finch will be opening with Ajinkya Rahane for KKR.
 as a replacement for England batter Alex Hales for the Indian Premier League 2022.){kind=link}