Aaron Finch looking forward to playing under Virat Kohli's leadership in IPL 2020

Aaron Finch has said that he is looking forward to playing under Virat Kohli's leadership in IPL 2020. Finch was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore during the IPL 2020 Auctions that were held in December last year. The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. Meanwhile, this will also be the first time that an IPL final will be played on a weekday. The tournament decider will be played on the day of Diwali.

'I know how competitive and driven he is': Aaron Finch

"I know how competitive and driven he is," said Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch while talking about the prospect of playing under the leadership of Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

"I can't wait to join up with RCB. To get the opportunity to play for a franchise that has some of the greatest players in the world is going to be fun. It would have been amazing to play in front of the home crowd at Chinnaswamy but representing the franchise in UAE will still mean a huge amount to me," Finch told ANI.

"It will be my first time playing under Virat's leadership but something I'm very excited about. Having played against him for a number of years now in international cricket and IPL I know how driven and competitive he is, that something I'm looking forward to seeing up close," added the Australian ODI and T20I skipper.

IPL 2020 to be held in UAE

With the ICC T20 World Cup being postponed, sources have confirmed that the much-anticipated IPL 2020 is all set to begin on September 19 in the UAE. The 13th edition of the cash-rich tournament, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held till November 8. The franchises will travel to the Middle-Eastern country 25 days before the first match to enter the bio-secure bubble. 

The seventh season of the IPL, in 2014, was held in UAE where the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged as champions. A part of the tournament was held outside India due to the 2014 General elections being held at the same time. This will be the third time the IPL will be hosted outside the country. The 2009 edition was entirely held in South Africa due to the 2009 General Elections. The tournament was won by the now-defunct Deccan Chargers who had beaten the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a low-scoring thriller.

Despite keeping its options open, board President Sourav Ganguly has stated that staging the tournament in India is a priority. However, UAE has emerged as a likely venue for the 13th edition of the IPL. Reports have also suggested that the board has considered Mumbai-Pune as an alternative venue to stage the entire league considering the infrastructure. 

READ: Zaheer Abbas Reveals The Reason Behind BCCI Shifting IPL 2020 From India To UAE

(Image Courtesy: AP)