'The team was going through a transition' - Aaron Finch reacts to Michael Clarke's 'sucking up to Virat Kohli' comment

The world has been facing the wrath of the coronavirus outbreak over the past couple of months. Along with affecting human lives, the pandemic has also taken a toll on the sporting scenario. Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases with every passing day, there’s still a lot of uncertainty over the resumption of international cricket.

If the world overcomes this tough situation, cricket fans would be elated to witness India locking horns with Australia Down Under. Cricket Australia has also released the fixtures for the same and Virat Kohli’s men are slated to face Australia in a four-match Test series from December 3. All fans are eagerly waiting for the series to get unfold as per the schedule.

India’s last tour of India was a remarkable expedition for Virat Kohli’s troops as they scripted history by winning their maiden Test series in the nation. While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami dismantled the Aussie batting force, skipper Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara dazzled with the bat to steer India to the series triumph.

Recalling the last tour, former Australia skipper, Michael Clarke had released a controversial statement. He had opined that the Australian players went easy on Kohli and avoided sledging him as they were worried about their lucrative IPL contracts. Clarke’s claim raised a few eyebrows and many Australian players denied the allegation.

Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has also reacted to Michael Clarke’s comment, saying that the players were obviously not being nice to get an IPL contract. According to Finch, the Australian side was going through a transition and many players were paving their way to the international stage.

‘Not sure where it was coming from’: Aaron Finch

“They were obviously not being nice to impress because they wanted an IPL contract. There is nothing about it. If you ask anyone playing on the field they will tell you that it was very very tough. It was played in the right spirit but it was very tough. Not sure where it was coming from.”

“The team was going through a transition and there were a lot of players trying to find their way in international cricket and doing that against India. Talking as a batsman, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, you can’t hide against that kind of attack,” said Finch to Sports Tak.

Finch also opined that Clarke might’ve seen things from outside that led him to make the assumption. However, the Australian side didn’t see this issue from inside, according to 33-year-old Finch. Finch has plied his trade for several IPL franchises since the inception of the tournament. Ahead of IPL 2020, he was snapped up for a hefty sum of INR 4.4 crore by Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“Micheal told we were being nice but people were just trying to find their own game, they were trying best way to play Test cricket. But everyone is entitled to their views, he might have seen something from the outside which we didn’t see from inside,” Finch said.