India has a quality player like Mayank to replace Rohit: Finch

In Rohit Sharma's absence, the in-form Mayank Agarwal is likely to open with Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI at the SCG on Friday.

Published : Nov 26, 2020 12:35 IST , SYDNEY

Mayank Agarwal is likely to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI.
Mayank Agarwal is likely to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI.
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Mayank Agarwal is likely to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI.

Australian skipper Aaron Finch on Thursday said India has enough quality in its ODI squad to replace Rohit Sharma, who is back home nursing a hamstring injury.

Rohit, who got injured during the IPL, is expected to feature in the four-match Test series starting December 17. In his absence, the in-form Mayank Agarwal is likely to open with Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI at the SCG on Friday.

“He is a great player and someone who has had quite a bit of success against us in the past. It (Rohit’s injury) is unfortunate,” Finch said in a virtual media interaction ahead of the series opener.

 

“You want to play against the best players all the time but whoever is going to replace him, possibly Mayank; he has been in great form as well. So you take away a lot of experience but you also bring in another quality player.”

Best ODI player

Finch said Australia would seek to dominate rather than contain the India captain. “If you look at his record it's second to none,” Finch said of Kohli, who averages nearly 60 in the 50-overs format.

“I think what we have to keep in mind is that we have to keep looking to get him out.

“When you go away from that and you look to contain players you can miss a trick there.”

“He's probably the best one-day player of all time so it's about sticking to our plans and being really committed in that regard.”

Well balanced

The Australian skipper, however, is very satisfied with the makeup of his team despite the absence of injured all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. Finch had the luxury of three all-rounders -- Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis -- in the last series Australia played in England.

“I really like the balance of our side at the moment, don’t get me wrong...What Maxi has shown in T20 cricket, in particular, is that his bowling keeps improving all the time and Stoinis has proved that as well with the amount of exposure he has had over the past couple of years bowling in the death.”

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