Australian captain Aaron Finch insisted that he "definitely wasn't worried" about David Warner's form ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Warner had a torrid outing in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and he was even dropped for the final few games.
Finch, in a pre-match conference ahead of the side's semi-final against Pakistan, said that a lot was read into his performances in the IPL.
"Yeah, I was never worried one bit about Dave's form. He's one of the all-time great batsmen of our era. I think you can look at it as though he had a really lean IPL and then the start of this tournament, but the two halves of the IPL were a long way apart, so if you miss out a couple of times at the end of the first part, which was in India, and then the first couple of games in Dubai, it looks as though a run of form is a pattern there," said Finch during a pre-match virtual press conference.
"I certainly wasn't worried. He's all class; he's trained hard; he's mentally fresh; he's ready to go. It's great to see the best of him fit and firing. As we all know, it's a great sight when he's up and about and scoring runs for Australia," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I certainly wasn't worried. He's all class; he's trained hard; he's mentally fresh; he's ready to go. It's great to see the best of him fit and firing. As we all know, it's a great sight when he's up and about and scoring runs for Australia," he added.
{{/usCountry}}However, the left-handed batter has managed to look good in the ongoing competition and he was seen at his best during the game against West Indies where he guided his team home.
Talking about the game against Pakistan, Finch said: "Oh, I don't think it makes too much difference to be honest. In a tournament with the format thing, straight to semifinals and a final, you know that you're on the tightrope from day one, and that first game against South Africa could have gone either way. We got over the line there in a really close one. We've played some really good cricket towards the back end after that England game."
"I don't think it makes too much difference, to be honest. Pakistan have been excellent, particularly like at the start of this tournament, to build their bank, so to speak. Yeah, not too much," he added.
(With agency inputs)