Kolkata, April 22 : Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a replacement for Alex Hales after he was not picked at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. Finch on Friday opened up about how he felt disappointed during the auction and also revealed how he was added to the KKR squad. “Yeah, of course. Yeah. 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 opport ty,” Finch said when asked about how he felt after not getting picked during IPL 2022 mega auction. However, the right-handed batter was picked by the two-time champions KKR as a replacement for English batter Hales later just before the start of the season. Coming off a 28-ball 58 against Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring run-chase, Finch hit the ground running in just his second game of the season. In an interview with KKR, Finch talked about the nerves during auction days, believing in the aggressive brand of cricket that he shares with the team, ‘IPL Pat’ and the camaraderie around the group among other things. “I think we played a game. This year we played a game against Sri Lanka on that day. So you don’t think about it too much at all. But in the years gone past, there are times when you get a little bit nervous because you’re hopeful of getting picked. 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. So that’s what you miss the most and that’s what you get most nervous about, maybe missing the opport ty sometimes,” he said. “I think it’s super important that everyone’s bought into the plan because if you have one person who doesn’t then the whole thing can fall down. So what we have seen so far is the ability for everybody to have bought into that is superb and shows the flexibility of the team but also the keenness for everyone to do well. I love that style of cricket because those days when it doesn’t happen for you but all it takes is one person to change the game. And we have got so many game-changers in the XI or the squad,” Finch said. “So to continue to go hard and put pressure back on the opposition is so important. Because if you just let the game drift and the opposition are never under pressure then you’re going to find it hard to get back into the game. So when they turn up against KKR, [they] are fearful because they know they are going to come out attacking all the time. So that automatically puts them on the back foot a bit also. So it’s a super way to play I think. And there are days when it’s going to go wrong but that’s okay because over a 14-game season, you’re hoping that it’s going to go right more often than not,” he said. Finch said Pat Cummins bats a lot better in IPL than he does for Australia. He’s played some great innings for KKR and he works hard on his batting so it was great to see him continue that aggressive mindset batting at no.7 to come out and keep swinging hard from ball one and change the momentum of the game, it was brilliant. “I have played with Andre Russell before in the Big Bash. He is a wonderful player, he is an excitement machine. He can bowl fast and he hits it miles. He’s someone who people come through the gates to watch. Love having him on your team because he can change your game in and over with ball or bat. He is just ridiculously powerful,” he said. “I think Venkatesh Iyer a fantastic player. Because he’s so tall, he’s got so many options. He’s got a great reach so teams struggle to tie him up because he’s got so many options around the ground and his ability to play both sides of the wicket, he’s. very intelligent with his batting. He can bat the long innings and get the team home. So for a young guy, that’s such a good trait to have. And even with that innings that Pat played in Pune, he was not out at the end and while he didn’t get all that many runs in a run-chase like that, his ability to just maintain the momentum of the team and not let the game drift too far away shows he’s got a great head on his shoulders,” Finch said. “KKR been a very stable squad for a long period of time which doesn’t always happen in franchise cricket. So the fact that everybody who has been here before loves the place. Everyone feels at home when they walk in here, it’s just something special. It’s a franchise I have got plenty of friends at and I have always admired how the team is ran. Obviously, with Venky (Mysore) as CEO he’s been here for a long time and everybody is very calm and relaxed around the place,” he added. BM