Upset after not finding any takers in the IPL 2022 mega auction, Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch jumped in excitement on getting a call from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to join the side as a replacement for Alex Hales.
Hales 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 on the auction day, that 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.
