Aaron Finch has been going through a rough phase, but Australia's interim coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that Finch is leading the side in the T20 World Cup later this year on home soil. Since October of the last T20 World Cup in the UAE, Finch has played 12 T20Is and three ODIs without scoring a half-century. His average in those matches are 15.73, with a strike rate of just 97.92.
McDonald still thinks, "From my end, there's no conversation around the fact that he won't be there." But, he added, "His form can ebb and flow as most players can, and his ability to work through these patches have been significant in his career. We had the same conversation about David Warner leading into the T20 World Cup last time."
He further explained that Australia is building a T20I team with Finch as a captain for the World Cup. "All these conversations are going to happen. Do we think he's still good enough to play at this level? 100% and I think that's as simple as it gets for us.
We're building a team around him as a captain. It's a pretty significant pillar to discuss not being at the T20 World Cup. We think he can still play at this level from our end."
Finch's poor form continued in the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan. In the last 15 limited-overs innings, he has nine single-digit scores, including two back-to-back ducks in the previous two One Day Internationals against Pakistan. "He's disappointed with his current form; there's no doubt about that," McDonald said.
Finch will soon join Kolkata Knight Riders for his IPL assignment after the one-off T20I against Pakistan on Tuesday.