IPL 2022: Cummins, Finch to miss KKR's opening 5 games, confirms Hussey

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 starts on Saturday, with four-time defending champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clashing against two-time former champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, KKR has been dealt with a setback. Its Australian recruits Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch would not be available for the first five games.

The development was confirmed by KKR's team's mentor David Hussey. The duo misses out because of their ongoing involvement with the Australian side in the tour of Pakistan. While the tour gets over on April 5, KKR plays its fifth game on April 10. KKR is already without specialist opener Alex Hales, who had pulled out earlier, citing bubble fatigue, leading to Finch being roped in as his replacement.

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"Well, it is a concern, you want your best players available, but international cricket should be the para-limit. Every cricketer should want to play international cricket for their countries, so they have commitments. I think Cummins and Finch will miss the first five games, but they will be cricket fit and cricket ready. So, once they hit the ground running, both quality people will fit into the dressing room perfectly well," Hussey said during KKR's pre-season press conference on Wednesday night.

A new skipper will lead KKR in the form of Shreyas Iyer, who was roped in for ₹12.25 crore during the mega auction last month. Hussey believes that Iyer possesses an excellent cricketing brain and has already proved his leadership abilities at Delhi Capitals (DC) by steering the side into the final of IPL 2020.

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"Shreyas is a born leader, just the way he walks around. He commands respect. Knowing Pat well, he would be a good deputy and lead from the front. But, the way Shreyas has captained in the past for Delhi, he has a magnificent cricket brain and a nice vision of how to play the game, and I think he will express himself really well. I think it's a smart move from Brendon [McCullum] and KKR management," Hussey reckoned.

"The best coaching is to leave the good players alone, let them go where they work. He is in rare form at the moment. I don't know him, I'm getting to know him, but he comes across as a true leader and a person who knows his game well," concluded Hussey.