Australian T20 captain, Aaron Finch injured his left hamstring during Friday night's loss to India at the MCG, which ruled him out of the final match of the series and from the upcoming Tour of New Zealand. However, Cricket Australia (CA) are hopeful that the T20 captain will be available for the World T20, but admits it's too early to declare him fully fit for the tournament which starts in India next month.
While Finch’s injury doesn't require surgery, CA's medical staffs are yet to give him clearance for the upcoming World T20.
CA official Alex Kountouris said, "Aaron had scans on his injured left hamstring that confirmed a moderate grade hamstring injury, This is not a recurrence of the previous hamstring injury that required surgery in April 2015.
“Although this current injury doesn’t require surgery there is a period of rehabilitation required before he can resume playing. We are aiming to have Aaron fit for the ICC World T20 in India but will have a better idea about his fitness for that tournament in the coming weeks once we see how he responds to treatment and a rehabilitation program."
On Sunday night, Finch tweeted his belief that he would be fit for the T20 World Championship, which sees Australia grouped alongside host India, Pakistan, New Zealand and a qualifier.
During the television coverage of the third T20I in Sydney, which Australia lost by seven wickets, former Aussie cricketer Mark Taylor speculated while commentating that Finch would miss the tournament and offered that Australia needed to find an alternative to open the batting.
But Finch was quick to dismiss that theory, turning to Twitter to confirm that he'd be fit for the tournament.
He quickly tweeted after that
Australia's 15-man squad for the World T20 will be announced by February 11 and CA confirmed on January 30 that the captain for the tournament would be announced when the squad will be revealed.
The good news for Finch is that his injury is not a recurrence of the one he suffered during the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, which required surgery and an extended absence from the game.
Finch is one of several opening batsman at Australia's disposal for the sixth World T20, especially the rise of Usman Khwaja and Shane Watson will surely create headaches for Australia's selection panel.
Watson put his hand up for the openers slot with a century at the SCG against India, while the likes of David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh also have strong claims on an opening spot.
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