Aus players missing tours will find it hard to justify IPL return: Finch

Australia limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch has said players who have withdrawn from the tours of West Indies and Bangladesh will find it hard to justify their return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) when the competition resumes its season in the UAE.

IPL 2021 will be resuming in September this year and it will conclude on October 15, days before the T20 World Cup begins. For the series against West Indies and Bangladesh, the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson and Jhye Richardson decided to pull out. The likes of David Warner and Pat Cummins have been rested while Steve Smith was ruled out due to an elbow injury.

"This is only my personal opinion, I think they would find it hard to justify going back and playing that second half of the IPL purely based on the workload coming up with a T20 World Cup then a huge home summer," Finch told SEN WA when speaking to Adam Gilchrist, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

"It's a tough situation everyone has been put in but personally I'd find it hard to do that knowing how challenging it is mentally and on your family," he added.

Talking about Warner and Cummins, Finch said: "Pat Cummins and David Warner, that was a long-term plan for them that they weren't going to go on this tour from the outset," he said. "Having a big summer last year followed by IPL with a T20 World Cup and a view to the Ashes, guys who are playing three formats of the game it can be so brutal on them travelling and playing in bubbles."

"I was a little bit surprised with the others. I've chatted to them all. A little bit surprised but also understandable. I know from my own point of view having gone to the UK then all the way through the home summer, I know towards the end of that year I was absolutely cooked mentally. Almost when the season finished it's a great relief so I can understand, but wish they were there," he added.