Finch ruled out of B'desh series, likely to undergo knee surgery

Bridgetown (Barbados), July 25 (IANS) Skipper Aaron Finch has been ruled out of the remainder of Australia's tour of the West Indies and their upcoming series in Bangladesh.

Finch suffered an injury to his right knee in the lead-up to the T20I series against the West Indies and further aggravated it during the final match on July 16. He has been out of action since.

With a swift recovery ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in October-November the priority, the Australia captain will return home to complete 14 days quarantine before likely undergoing surgery.

"I'm extremely disappointed to be heading home," Finch said. "This was considered the best course of action rather than travelling to Bangladesh, not being able to play and losing that recovery time. I will have the surgery if required and start the recovery process ahead of the World Cup," Finch was quoted as saying on the ICC website.

Cricket Australia's medical staff and selectors remain "optimistic" he will recover in time for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, according to a press release from the national body.

Finch's injury is a significant blow to Australia ahead of the showpiece event and selectors will hope their early optimism is well-founded. The veteran sits third on the ICC T20I men's batting rankings, is the format's fourth-greatest run-scorer (2473 runs at 37.46) and boasts its highest score (172).

He is a key cog in Australia's plans to win the T20I World Cup for the first time.

For now, the selectors' next big decision is who will captain Australia in the five T20Is against Bangladesh.