Knee surgery to have Finch flying before T20 World Cup

Australia captain Aaron Finch expects to be fit and firing with time to spare ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup after he undergoes surgery to his injured right knee.

Finch suffered a cartilage injury in St Lucia earlier this month but was able to lead Australia in five T20s against the Windies, before reaggravating the issue in the final game of the series.

The world's third-ranked T20I batter is currently fulfilling his two-week quarantine period in a Melbourne hotel, having headed home from the Caribbean before the rest of the national squad travelled to Bangladesh for a five-match T20 series that begins next week.

"I had a little injury just doing a fielding session before I left – I've never had any knee problems – and it just started to get a bit sore," Finch told SEN Radio.

"The more that we trained and played … stopping and starting, turning, that kind of thing was causing it some issues.

"So I had a couple of scans in the West Indies and there was a little bit of cartilage, a bit of meniscus damage.

"Hopefully (it will be) a quick cleanout once I'm out of quarantine and it'll have me back up and running in plenty of time for the T20 World Cup."

Australia were soundly beaten 4-1 in the T20 series but as well as the all-round form of Mitch Marsh, Finch felt his inexperienced side's ability to compete with a seasoned West Indies team – who will defend their world title in the Middle East in October – was the major takeaway for the tourists.

"It's not a flattering scoreline but the West Indies have got a very experienced side … (and) some brute power," he added.

"But I think the fact we were in three of those games was a real positive.

"We should've got over the line in the first one – that was a really ordinary batting display chasing 140 – then we won the fourth game and were in the fifth one for a fair amount of time.

"So with a really inexperienced group, the fact we were able to match the West Indies for a lot of that series – and we just got blown away in a couple of different parts, which when you've got a group that is still developing (is going to happen) – was a real positive."

Finch expects Matthew Wade to captain Australia in Bangladesh, with the Hobart Hurricanes veteran having assumed the role previously in Finch's absence.

With Finch injured, Australia will face the Tigers without their four most experienced batsmen, with Steve Smith also still rehabilitating from tennis elbow, and David Warner and Glenn Maxwell having made themselves unavailable for this tour.

Speaking in Barbados earlier this week, Wade said the bowler-friendly tracks at Kensington Oval that saw ball dominate bat through the three-match ODI series that Australia won 2-1 was ideal preparation for what awaits Justin Langer's group across the coming weeks and months.

"It was nice to get some exposure on these pitches with what we've got coming up, obviously with Bangladesh and the World Cup in the UAE as well," the 33-year-old said.

"Until you really play on them it's hard to know how to go about it.

"You continue to play on these wickets and you find a way to make runs. I've been lucky enough to play in these conditions in India and Asia and understand what it takes to grind some runs out.

"You can't really play the way we like to play in Australia.

"I thought our adjustment from the (previous) game to this game, especially with the bat, was a very positive sign."