Why Aaron Finch was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders as Alex Hales' replacement

Alex Hales had cited bubble fatigue as the reason for his withdrawal from the tournament, according to an official Indian Premier League statement. Aaron Finch will be joining Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.5 crore.

Captain of winning Australian T20 squad 

Aaron Finch was the captain of the Australian squad that won the ICC T20 World Cup. As of March 19, Aaron Finch has played 88 T20I matches, scoring 2686 runs with an average of 34.4 and a strike rate of 145.4, including two centuries and 15 half-centuries. He currently holds two of the three highest scores in T20I, 156 against England in 2013 and 172 against Zimbabwe in July 2018.

Ahead of the 2022 iteration, Aaron Finch has played 87 IPL matches, scoring 2005 runs with an average of 25.7 and a strike rate of 127.7. He has also scored 14 half-centuries in his Indian Premier League career.

Aaron Finch currently holds the record for representing the maximum number of franchises in the Indian Premier League. Kolkata Knight Riders will be Aaron Finch’s ninth IPL team. Finch has played in ten of the 14 Indian Premier League editions that took place. His experience would help Kolkatta Night Riders a lot.

The Aussie batsman had earlier played for Rajasthan Royals in 2010, Delhi Daredevils in 2011-12, Pune Warriors India in 2013, Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014, Mumbai Indians in 2011, Gujrat Lions in 2016-17, Kings XI Punjab in 2018 and Royal Challengers Banglore in 2020.

Alex Hales is not the first player to opt-out of the Indian Premier League, citing bubble life. Jason Roy parted ways with Gujrat Titans, one of the two new teams this edition due to the same reasons as Aaron Finch.

Hales gave a statement on Twitter saying, "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,"

The two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will kickstart the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26.