Huge blow for KKR as Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch to miss first 5 games for Shreyas Iyer & Co. in IPL 2022

In what comes as a huge blow for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the start of the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) the Shreyas Iyer-led side is all set to miss the services of two of their overseas stars Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins for the start of the season. The duo Aussie duo are confirmed to miss at least the first five of KKR’s matches in the upcoming IPL 2022.

Both Cummins and Finch are currently part of the Australia squad for their ongoing tour of Pakistan. KKR mentor David Huddey confirmed that the Aussie duo will miss the franchise’s first five games this season due to international duty. KKR are set to open their IPL 2022 campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26.

“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 that way. I think Cummins and Finch will miss the first five games but they will be cricket fit and cricket ready,” Hussey said in a virtual presser.

“So, once they hit the ground running, both quality people and they will fit into the dressing room perfectly well,” he added.

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Cummins’s absence in particular is a big blow for KKR as the Australian Test skipper was set to spearhead their pace attack in the upcoming season. In his absence, KKR will rely heavily on the likes of Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell to lead their pace attack. Meanwhile, Finch was roped in as a replacement for Alex Hales, who pulled out of the tournament.

Australia’s ongoing tour of Pakitan is set to end on April 05 but both Cummins and Finch will have to serve mandatory three-day isolation in which case they are likely to miss KKR’s fifth game of the season which is scheduled to take place on April 10. In the duo’s absence, it remains to be seen what combination will KKR opt for at the start of the season.

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While all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are likely to be their two first-choice overseas players, there will be a battle betweem Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi and Chamika Karunaratne for the remaining two slots.