Australia came into the 2022 T20 World Cup at home as the defending champion. While the expectations were sky-high, the Aaron Finch-led team had a disappointing start to the campaign, losing to New Zealand in the opener.
Even though it returned to winning ways later, it was not enough for Australia to defend its title. While New Zealand and England qualified for the semifinals from Group 1, Australia exited after the Super-12 stage.
Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist believes the side lacked fluency, with a few key players struggling with form and injuries. At the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, Gilchrist, one of the commentators for ICC in the T20 World Cup, spoke to Sportstar on Australia’s exit and the road ahead and touched upon Virat Kohli’s form in the ongoing tournament.
What are your thoughts on defending champion Australia’s elimination from the tournament?
The teams and the players will be most disappointed. They had expectations that they were going to do well. For some reason, they didn’t kick-start the tournament: right from the early upset [against New Zealand]. It felt like they were trying to play catch up ever since, and that’s hard in a short tournament. They’ll be disappointed to have let the opportunity go away and will learn and move forward.
What do you think went wrong for Australia in this tournament?
A couple of players struggled a little bit with results leading into the tournament. Really important players like Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell coming into the tournament did not get the results they were chasing, so the team did not seem to get any fluency. Finch mentioned they were quite tired leading into the tournament; that was an interesting admission. Perhaps, that lead-in and preparations for the tournament are something they can visit.
Questions are being raised over Finch’s future in the T20s. Realistically, do you see him featuring in the format again?
Aaron will make up his mind about what he does. He has finished in One-Day cricket, and now it’s up to him to make up his mind.
David Warner struggled in the tournament. What are your thoughts on Warner’s form and what lies ahead for him?
As for David Warner, I will be surprised if they don’t lift the ban (lifetime leadership ban). I think they will lift the ban, but whether that means he becomes the captain is another decision. He is close to the end of his career, and maybe he can continue to contribute and doesn’t necessarily have to be captain. Maybe, they can bring in someone who can do it [captaincy] for a little longer term.
What areas Australia needs to work on in the aftermath of this exit?
I don’t think I can pinpoint one area. They will work on the area (depending) on the way the team is moving forward now. A number of experienced players may be phasing out of that team. There’s some young talent waiting to get in there.
The team has got some really exciting talents like Tim David…
There are (a lot of exciting talents). We will have to see what decision is taken on the older players - whether the players themselves take a decision or whether the selectors take the call. I am not here to say what’s the right way to go, but it will be interesting to see which way they go.
While some senior batters in various teams have struggled, Virat Kohli has been in prime form in the tournament. Having seen him closely over the last few weeks, what is your assessment?
Really impressive. He is showing how invaluable experience is. Virat has been a class act. That’s what several teams haven’t been able to replicate. Virat has used all that knowledge, experience and expertise to win the big moments. Look at Ben Stokes last night (in the game against Sri Lanka)… A big-moment player calmly gets things done amid the potential panic. Very impressive.
Who are the players that have impressed?
Quite a few players have had a good tournament. Devon Conway from New Zealand set a fine standard. He has made a real impression on the tournament from the first match. That has given New Zealand a nice opportunity to build on that. He is one of the several players who have impressed me.
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