Australian captain Aaron Finch battling to be fit for Sri Lanka T20

The top-order batsman is sitting out Victoria’s ongoing Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia in a bid to be ready for the first of three games against the Sri Lankans in Adelaide on Sunday.

Limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is battling to be fit for Australia’s opening Twenty20 against Sri Lanka after picking up a side strain. The top-order batsman is sitting out Victoria’s ongoing Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia in a bid to be ready for the first of three games against the Sri Lankans in Adelaide on Sunday.

File image of Aaron Finch (AP)

“It started out as a little back niggle and it’s just a little tear in my side. So hopefully not too long. It’s been a week since I did it,” Finch told Perth radio 6PR at the weekend.

He said he hoped to play a one-day game for his state on Wednesday but “if I can still feel it and it’s a little niggle there, I think the medical staff will probably take the conservative route”.

If fit, Finch is expected to open the Australian innings with David Warner, before Steve Smith comes in at first drop.

After Adelaide, Australia face the Lasith Malinga-led Sri Lankans in Brisbane and Melbourne before Pakistan arrive for T20s in Sydney, Canberra and Perth.