Australia's Aaron Finch retires from international cricket
Melbourne (PTI): Australia's most successful T20 International batter and captain Aaron Finch, who led the country to its maiden shortest format World Cup triumph in 2021, announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old will, however, continue to play for the Renegades in the Big Bash League and would consider domestic T20 opportunities in other countries.
"Our World Cup winning, longest serving men's T20I captain has called time on a remarkable career. Thanks for everything @AaronFinch5," Cricket Australia (CA) said on its official Twitter handle.
Finch's retirement from international cricket was on expected lines. He played just five Tests, the last one being in 2018, and retired from the ODIs last year after a much-publicised struggle for form as captain of the Australian team.
He captained the team to their first T20 World Cup title when they defeated New Zealand in Dubai in 2021 and is one of only four male Australians to captain a World Cup winning side.
But, the Australian team under him failed to qualify for the semifinals T20 World Cup at home last year. His last international match came in the T20 showpiece when he top-scored with 63 as Australia beat Ireland by 42 runs.
"Realising that I won't be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment to step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event," Finch told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"I also want to say a huge thank you to all the fans who have supported me throughout my international career."
The long-term white-ball skipper and longest-serving T20I captain represented Australia in 254 international matches across all formats, playing five Tests (278 runs), 146 ODIs (5406 runs) and 103 T20Is.
Since making his international debut in a T20I in January 2011, Finch amassed 8,804 runs in all formats which includes 17 ODI centuries and two T20I tons.
Finch led Australia in a world record 76 men's T20Is, as well as in 55 ODIs, before his retirement. He is Australia's most prolific T20I batter with 3120 runs from 103 matches at an average of 34.28, with two hundreds and 19 fifties, and a strike-rate of 142.53.
He also holds the record for the highest score in a T20I when blasting 172 runs from just 76 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018, an incredible knock that included 10 sixes and 16 fours.
Finch was also a part of the Australia team that won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2015.
"Team success is what you play the game for and the maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be the two memories I cherish the most," Finch said.
"To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour."
Finch said he is hopeful of playing franchise cricket, insisting that it is only the "international cricket that I'm walking away from at the moment."
"I'm hopeful to play in The Hundred (in the UK) because that's a competition I was really excited about for a couple of years, but then didn't get the opportunity with COVID and then some tours that came up," he said.
"And if anything else pops up and it's at the right time, I'd definitely be interested."
Finch, who has represented nine IPL teams, will also be commentating during the upcoming season of the league and the ODI World Cup in India later this year.
"Plus I've been lucky enough to sign with Star India for some commentary stuff through the IPL and the 50-over World Cup (in India later this year), so that will be good fun.
"I've loved the broadcast side of it, since I've done a bit more of it this year and last year. You get to sit there and watch cricket and talk about it it's the best job in the world, besides playing."
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Governor's move an insult to assembly, will protest his unconstitutional action: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has criticised Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for not skipping the Cabinet-approved address and reading his version of the address at the first joint session of the year, alleging that the move violated constitutional provisions and amounted to an insult to the elected legislature.
Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot addressed the joint session of the state legislature on Thursday, but read only three lines of the government’s prepared speech before leaving the House. A day earlier, he had refused to address the session.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday on the Governor’s shortened address to both Houses of the legislature, he said, “As per the Constitution, it is the Governor’s duty to address the joint session held at the beginning of every year and when a new government is formed.”
He said that under Articles 176 and 163 of the Constitution, the Governor is required to read the address prepared by the Cabinet, a practice that has been followed since the Constitution came into force.
“By delivering a speech drafted by himself, the Governor had violated constitutional provisions and insulted the Assembly of elected representatives,” the Chief Minister alleged.
The Chief Minister highlighted that the Congress party and the state government would protest what he termed an unconstitutional act and that agitations had been planned across the state.
He alleged that the Governor had acted as the “puppet” of the Centre, accusing the Central government of using the Governor to deliver a different address to cover up its own failures, and said the Governor had not fulfilled his constitutional duty.
He further alleged that the Centre had repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and introduced a new scheme called ‘VB-G RAM G’, a move strongly opposed by the state government. He said the first step taken by the Centre was to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the Act.
Recalling the Congress-led UPA government’s initiatives, Siddaramaiah said that during Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister in 2005, landmark legislations such as the Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Education and Right to Employment were implemented in line with constitutional principles.
He added that the employment guarantee programme, aimed at providing at least 100 days of work to the rural poor, continues to benefit Dalits, labourers, women and small farmers.
He claimed that under the Centre’s new Act, job security for beneficiaries had been weakened, particularly affecting women and Dalits, who together formed a large share of those employed under the earlier scheme. He said the previous law allowed small farmers to take up work on their own land and ensured employment throughout the year, which was the government’s responsibility.
Siddaramaiah alleged that under the new arrangement, poor workers would be required to work at locations decided by the Central government. He also pointed out that earlier, Gram Sabha’s and Panchayats had the authority to prepare employment action plans, but this decentralised decision-making process had been removed under the new Act.
