Michael Clarke’s accusation of Aussies ‘being nice’ to India untrue, states Aaron Finch

The 2018/19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, which the visitors won 2-1, was strange in many ways, for not only did it feature one of the weakest Australian sides in recent history, but also saw the Kangaroos sport a very ‘soft’ persona on the field. The aftermath of the Newlands ball-tampering saga saw Tim Paine and Justin Langer rebuild the Australian side in a more toned-downed way, with the Kangaroos seldom partaking in verbal fights and/or sledging.

“They were obviously not being nice to impress because they wanted an IPL contract. There is nothing about it. If you ask anyone playing on the field they will tell you that it was very very tough. It was played in the right spirit but it was very tough. Not sure where it was coming from,” Finch told Sports Tak responding to Clarke’s comments, reported Times Now.

Finch, who featured in three Tests in that series versus India, further added that Clarke was entitled to his own opinion but admitted that he was a bit puzzled, given he did not see anything of that sort - Aussies being deliberately nice to Indians - going on within the team.

“Micheal told we were being nice but people were just trying to find their own game, they were trying best way to play Test cricket. But everyone is entitled to their views, he might have seen something from the outside which we didn’t see from inside.”