Australia vs India: Brad Hogg unhappy with the hosts dropping Aaron Finch for Sydney Test

The Australian selection panel may have to undergo an overhaul after dropping many selection bombshells in the ongoing fourth Test against India. As anticipated, Aaron Finch was discarded for the Sydney Test, with Usman Khawaja returning to the opening spot.

It was also expected that the opening batsman will feature for the Melbourne Renegades against the Adelaide Strikers, however, that wasn’t the case. Former Australian leg-spinner Brad Hogg slammed Cricket Australia’s move to not release him for the Big Bash League (BBL) either. They haven’t disclosed the reason for the same

The 47-year old took to twitter and criticized Cricket Australia severely for not letting Finch batting in the middle order and also not allowing him to feature in the T20 extravaganza in front of his home crowd. Another shocking decision which the Australian Cricket Board took was selecting Marnus Labuschagne who averaged a mere 28 in the Sheffield Shield.

Along with Aaron Finch, the hosts have dropped the all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. The 32-year-old was dumped, owing to a string of exceptionally low scores as the hosts Australia were humbled by India, who are leading the four-match series by 2-1.

Here’s Hogg’s tweet:

Pity Finch did not get an opportunity down the order in the Baggy Green, but not releasing him for the @RenegadesBBL in his home town @GeelongCC is a CA marketing blunder. #localhero

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) January 3, 2019

The Victorian batsman, reportedly used to bat in the middle order for his state in the Sheffield Shield cricket but was made to open the innings. Finch had a brilliant start to his Test career, having scored 62 & 49 in his first Test, nevertheless, hasn’t produced any substantial scores. Experts and analysts believed that an experimentation of dropping Finch to the middle-order could bring in fruitful results.

The burly batsman could’ve flourished in the middle-order, having already batted in the position. Experts also believe that picking Labuschagne to bat in the number three position could prove fatal to the team.

Aussies on the back foot

Meanwhile, Australia are lagging behind in the game, with India scoring a mammoth 303 in the first day of the final Test. Cheteshwar Pujara yet again defied the hosts with a gritty hundred who was well supported by Mayank Agarwal and has now put on a partnership of above 70 with Hanuma Vihari.

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