T20 World Cup: Aaron Finch backs David Warner to open batting for Australia

Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch has backed underfire David Warner to open the innings for the team in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Oman and UAE. David Warner would be expected to regain his form by providing blistering starts to the Aussies during the tournament with his batting pyrotechnics against the new-ball bowlers upfront. 

“He [Warner] is one of the best players to ever play the game for Australia,” Finch said. “I’ve got no doubt he would love to be playing for Hyderabad but I know that he’s still training away. He’ll be good to go", the 2015 World Cup winner added as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The five-time ODI world champions would be hoping to showcase a stellar performance in the showpiece event as they look forward to winning their first World T20 crown. Finch & Co. are placed in Group 1 along with arch-rivals England, South Africa and the defending champions West Indies.

Australia T20 World Cup squad

Aaron Finch will lead the team, while Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Pat Cummins are among the big-name stars to return to the squad. Fast bowlers Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, and Jason Behrendorff along with top-order options Alex Carey, Moises Henriques, Josh Philippe, and Ashton Turner are the most notable omissions. Apart from David Warner,  Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis, Australia T20 World Cup Squad also has Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade. Josh Inglis was a surprise selection in Australia's 15-man squad, having leapfrogged Alex Carey and Josh Philippe to win a spot as the backup stumper to Matthew Wade. 

David Warner T20 stats

David Warner is regarded as one of the most dynamic batsmen in the shortest format of the game with 2265 runs from 81 T20Is at an average of 31.4 and a strike rate of 139.7. The southpaw also has amassed 5449 IPL runs from 150 appearances averaging 41.6 and a strike rate of 140. However, the elegant batsman has struggled in the ongoing IPL 2021 where he could only manage 195 runs from eight games and just two runs from the two games that he got to feature in during the second phase of the marquee tournament as a result of which he had to warm the bench and was replaced by the dynamic England opener Jason Roy.

The Sunriers Hyderbad are already knocked out from the IPL 2021 with just two wins from 12 matches and four points to their tally. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether David Warner would get to play the final two games for the 'Orange Army'. 

Image: AP