Aaron Finch Deserves To Open Against India In Tests, Says Tim Paine

Aaron Finch proved his mettle during his debut Test series against Pakistan, which his national team lost 0-1. Opening for Australia, Aaron Finch notched up scores of 62, 49, 39, 31 in a series where the visitors were made to toil hard for runs. Australia next host top-ranked India in the longest format of the game, starting from December 6 in Adelaide and Test skipper Tim Paine believes that Aaron Finch deserves to open after his gritty performances with the bat against Pakistan.

The 33-year-old Paine also said that Finch is their best batsman in all formats of the game along with Usman Khawaja.

Paine believes that Finch can bat anywhere from one to six and that will be a real positive for the hosts heading into the series against a formidable Indian side.

"I think Finchy deserves that spot," Tim Paine was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"He got picked on weight of runs in all formats of the game and in Dubai he was our best batsman, apart from Usman.

"I think he's earned the right to open the batting. But going forward, who knows? We know Aaron can bat anywhere from one to six so that's a real positive for us and for him," the right-handed batsman added.

Finch has maintained an average over 45 in Test cricket. In One-Day Internationals (ODIs), the hard-hitting batsman averages 37.85 with a high score of 148.

In the shortest format of the game, where Finch is one of the key batsman for the Australia, he averages just over 41 with two centuries to his name.