Former Australian captain Ian Chappell believes playing Test cricket was “probably the worst thing” that happened to Aaron Finch and that his current form has given a “hell of a headache” to the selectors with the 2019 World Cup just a few months away.
“It’s a hell of a headache for the selectors,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports. “But you have to think about what is worse, dropping him now or dropping him in the middle of the World Cup?”
Finch has been in one of his worst career slumps. He started off his Test career in fine fashion with 62 & 49 against Pakistan in Dubai but his scores since then have seen a rapid decline across all formats. The ODI and T20I captain has registered four single-digit scores in his past seven ODIs and has crossed 20 just once in those games. Since receiving his Test cap back in October 2018 Finch has averaged 11.85 in ODI cricket and 7.50 in T20Is.
“Probably the worst thing that happened to Aaron Finch was playing Test cricket,” Chappell said. “Certainly India worked him out in the Test matches, and that flowed on into the one-day series. He’s playing like a man without much confidence.
“You get the feeling confidence was such a huge part of his one-day batting, and I’m not sure if one score against Pakistan in the UAE is going to restore that, especially if he continues to struggle through the rest of the Indian series.”
