Kolkata Knights Riders have roped in the Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch as the replacement for Alex Hales in IPL 2022.
Hales parted ways with KKR citing bubble fatigue and mental well-being, just like he pulled away from Pakistan Super League in February.
Hales is the second English opener after Jason Roy to pull out of Tata IPL 2022, citing bubble exhaustion and stress.
Hales was bought at his base price of Rupees 1.5 crores by KKR at the IPL Mega Auction in January.
Aaron Finch, a veteran of the game with the highest ever score in T20is of 172, is all set to display his explosive batting skills for the Knight Riders.
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 11, 2022
Aaron Finch joins KKR as a replacement for Alex Hales.
Welcome to the #GalaxyOfKnights, @AaronFinch5!#KKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/3HnSyKogV2
Finch has played for 8 different franchises in the Indian Premier League so far, and it will be his 9th stint with a completely different team in the IPL.
No other player has played for 9 franchises in IPL’s history, and by signing with KKR, he has become the first player to do so.
Finch guided Australia to a T20i World Cup tournament victory in 2021, and KKR will hope to get his insights on the game at IPL 2022.
Till now, Finch has played 87 IPL games with over 2000 runs at an average of 25.7, with the strike rate hovering around 127.
Finch will be hoping to replicate his international success in T20 cricket at this year’s IPL to cement his place in KKR’s squad for years to come.
KKR will go head to head with CSK in the tournament’s inaugural match on 26th March at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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