Aaron Finch names three cricketers who can replace David Warner in third ODI against India

Australia’s aggressive opening batsman David Warner has been ruled out of the remaining white-ball series against India after suffering a groin strain during the second One Day International. Detailing his opinion on the same, Australian skipper Aaron Finch reckoned that though the absence of Warner makes the side a little weaker, they have plenty of options who can contribute heavily in that role. 

Finch named Alex Carey, Marnus Labuschagne, and Matthew Wade as the prominent batters who can open the innings for Australia in the third ODI. Also, the skipper believes that since they have already clinched the series by 2-0, they have the liberty of testing their bench strength and experimenting with their playing XI. 

“We have not picked a team yet, but we have got a few options. Whether we go Wadey in the side or Marnus comes up and opens the batting, Alex Carey has done a lot of it in the past. But the middle-order has been functioning really well over the last little while. That is the beauty of being two-nil up in the series, you can look to experiment if you want to do that or you can look to play the safe option,” Cricket.com.au quoted Finch as saying.

David Warner is an all-time great in One-Day and T20 cricket, says Aaron Finch

Speaking about the importance of David Warner in limited-overs format, Aaron Finch hailed the opener as all-time great and asserted that though it would be difficult to fill the his shoes, they have players who can set up to take the responsibility. 

“He is an all-time great in one-day and T20 cricket, I do not think there are many better players to have played the game. So any team he is not a part of is going to be slightly weaker but we have got guys that can step and really contribute heavily in that role,” the Australian skipper stated. 

While Australia hasn’t named any replacement for Warner for the third ODI against India, batsman D’Arcy Short has already been added in the T20I squad. Short has been added in the squad on the back of his phenomenal performance in Australia’s domestic tournament, Big Bash League. He was the leading run-scorer in both 2017-18 and 2018-19 edition.