"Jumped At The Opportunity": Aaron Finch On Getting KKR Call To Replace Alex Hales

Upset after not finding any takers in the IPL mega auction, Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch "jumped" in excitement on getting a call from Kolkata Knight Riders to join the side as a replacement for Alex Hales, who had pulled out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue, opening the gate for Finch, who joined KKR at his base price of Rs 1.5-crore.

"It's just a great competition to be a part of and I think when you're not here you really miss it. To have the chance to train and play with the best players in the world consistently I think makes everyone better," Finch told KKR website, on the eve of their match against Gujarat Titans.

"Yeah, of course. Yeah (I was disappointed). But then to get the call from Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) to come and join KKR, I was very excited and jumped at the opportunity." The former RCB opener replaced a struggling Ajinkya Rahane at the top in their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad and his KKR debut was marked by a five-ball seven.

But he was back at his best in their last match against Rajasthan Royals, smashing a 28-ball 58, his highest IPL score since 2017.

Australia's maiden T20 World Cup winning skipper further said in the auction day, he always has nervous feelings but this time during the mega auction in February they were playing a match in Sri Lanka so he didn't think about it much.

"But in the years gone past, there are times when you get a little bit nervous because you're hopeful of getting picked.

"So that's what you miss the most and that's what you get most nervous about, maybe missing the opportunity sometimes," he said.

Finch was also mighty impressed with the way his Aussie teammate Pat Cummins bats in IPL.

Cummins blazed his way to a 14-ball fifty -- the