Aaron Finch, captain of Australia, announced ahead of the first Super-12 match against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday that opener David Warner would replace regular Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade in the event of an injury during the ICC T20 World Cup.
Josh Inglis, the backup wicketkeeper, is out of the competition after suffering a freak hand injury on the golf course. Wade is the only specialist glovesman in the team, and Finch stated that if the 34-year-old is hurt as well, Warner would take over.
Due to knee problems, Finch disqualified himself from the job and mentioned that Warner had started "keeping" during training.
"Most likely Davey Warner, in my opinion. He practised a little bit yesterday (Thursday). Maybe I could handle it on my own. Maybe it's a little trickier to captain and keep when you've never done it before. Perhaps Mitchell Starc will bowl a few early, take the gloves off in the middle, and then bowl once more in the closing stages. It's a wise inquiry. Actually, I think Davey. And like I said, that's a risk we're willing to take right now "Regarding his alternatives, Finch remarked.
Finch said that he was "a little bit old" to be performing such tasks.
"I definitely did not (keep during the practise session). My answer is no. The 35-year-old Finch continued, "My knees and everything are getting a little bit old for keeping.
Finch stated that his team players were not preoccupied with the pressure of playing at home because it might negatively affect their efforts to defend their crown.
"No, we don't — well, I haven't read or heard anything about anything outside because you can't control that. It's critical for our team that you focus 100 percent on the task at hand if you allow yourself to become distracted by it (external pressure).
"If you go back or down at our roster, you'll see that we have players who play T20 cricket incredibly instinctively and actively. Therefore, you should never attempt to take that away by sowing even a tiny seed of doubt or by diverting attention from anything.
"Since every team wants to win, we recently had a conversation about what we wanted the atmosphere to be in that absence. That is unavoidable. Every professional sports team strives for victory. So how does our environment appear after that is eliminated? Because it's a pretty challenging competition and you'll need to be at your best, it's crucial that we play in the moment and enjoy the trip. Don't let yourself be defeated or let anything distract you from what's in front of you "Finch was added.