Aaron Finch backs David Warner for Australia captaincy

Aaron Finch has stirred up a controversy of sorts in Australian cricketing circles by claiming that David Warner is well and truly ready to lead the national side if such an opportunity crops up. Finch, who was replaced as Australia’s T20 skipper in early 2016 by Steven Smith, was all praise for Warner, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden IPL triumph on Sunday.

Warner led his side from the front with his batting as well as shrewd captaincy, scoring 848 runs during the 2016 IPL, including an unbeaten 93 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator and 69 in the final against Royal Challengers Bangalore, thus playing a defining role in the team’s success.

"To lead the Sunrisers to the title I think shows how much he loved the responsibility of captaining," Finch said, as reported by cricket.com.au. "He led from the front with the bat, in the field he led from the front and I think as a captain he was someone who captained the way that he plays. He always took the aggressive option, he never backed down.

"They didn't start off the tournament overly well but I think he stuck to his guns, stuck to what he believed was right and they got the job done. It's all about backing your ability and backing what you think is the right thing at the right time and he certainly did that. The way he dominated the tournament with the bat, but also winning close games in finals shows a lot of character from a team and a leader, so he was outstanding."

Incidentally, Finch’s comments come on the day when Smith, the Australian skipper across all three formats, is celebrating his 27th birthday but Finch seemed to downplay that he was suggesting a change of guard by offering his support to the current skipper as well.

"I think a part of that is having confidence in your own game but also having the confidence of your teammates in your own game as well, that you're almost the number one picked player. And (Warner is) certainly that, along with Steve. They've been exceptional for a long time now and as captain and vice-captain, they've done a fantastic job,” he said.

"I think if something did happen and (Warner) had to take over, he'd do an amazing job as well."

Family crucial to Warner’s change in lifestyle

Finch believes that becoming a father of three young girls has certainly helped Warner to set his priorities right and credited his wife Candice for helping Warner transform himself from a guy with disciplinary issues into a matured person.

"I think having three girls at home would settle down anyone, wouldn't it?," Finch said in reference to Warner's wife Candice and the couple's two young daughters.The way he's matured with his family, Candice has had a lot to do with that.

"He's someone who's changed his lifestyle, changed everything to make the most of the talent and the career that he had laid out in front of him. Credit to him, the way he's played in the past two years of Test cricket, one-day cricket and T20 has been unbelievable. He's probably been the form player in the world over the past two years. So credit to him and his family," Finch said.