Kolkata Knight Riders has signed the Australia’s T20 World cup winning skipper Aaron Finch as the replacement for Alex Hales for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League 2022.
“Hales has cited bubble fatigue as his reason for withdrawal from the tournament,” IPL officials said in a media release on Saturday.
Finch has so far played 88 IPL games where he has scored more than 2000 IPL runs. He will join KKR at the price of 1.5 crore INR. As earlier the schedule for IPL 2022 has already been announced by the BCCI, KKR will kickstart the tournament on 26th march. They will face Chennai Super Kings in their opening encounter at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Two-times IPL winner has already declare their new captain as Shreyas Iyer is all set to lead the team for this season of the league.
The Australian right handed batter has last played in IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in its 2020 edition. Earlier he went unsold in the initial stage of auction.
Alex Hales stated the reason for leaving IPL 2022
“Hi guys, I am sad to announce that I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming IPL. Having spent the last four months away from home in restrictive bio bubbles’ and having tested positive for COVID myself in Australia, I don’t feel as though I can commit myself to another extended period within a secure environment,” said Alex in a Twitter statement.
“It wouldn’t be fair on the team or myself if I wasn’t able to perform to the level expected of me as a result of ongoing bubble fatigue.”
“I’m truly gutted to have to turn down one of the best opportunities of my career due to the toll that the last two years of bubble life have taken on my mental well-being. I’ll now take some time to rest and recharge ahead of the summer,” he further added.
“I want to thank KKR for believing in me during the auction and for their ongoing support in recent weeks. I wish Baz, Shreyas, and the team the best of luck for the tournament and hope to see the Knight Riders fans at some point in the future,” he said.
Epic record created as Finch has signed KKR for this season
The Australian T20 world cup captain is all set to create a unique record by its own as he is going to represent for ninth-franchise in Indian Premier League. Earlier, the batter has represented Rajasthan Royals (2010), Delhi Daredevils (2011-12), Pune Warriors India (2013), Sunrisers Hyderabad (2014), Mumbai Indians (2015), Gujarat Lions (2016-17), Kings XI Punjab (2018) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (2020).
