Finch suffered an injury to his right knee in the lead-up to the T20I series against the West Indies and further aggravated it during the final match last Friday. He has been out of action since.

With a swift recovery ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in October-November the priority, the Australia captain will return home to complete 14 days quarantine before likely undergoing surgery.

“I’m extremely disappointed to be heading home,” Finch said. “This was considered the best course of action rather than travelling to Bangladesh, not being able to play and losing that recovery time. I will have the surgery if required and start the recovery process ahead of the World Cup.”

Cricket Australia’s medical staff and selectors remain “optimistic” he will recover in time for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, according to a press release from the national body.

Finch’s injury is a significant blow to Australia ahead of the showpiece event and selectors will hope their early optimism is well-founded. The veteran sits third on the ICC T20I men’s batting rankings, is the format’s fourth-greatest run-scorer (2473 runs at 37.46) and boasts its highest score (172).

Suffice to say he is a key cog in their plans to win the men’s T20I World Cup for the first time.

For now, the selectors' next big decision is who captains Australia in the five T20Is against Bangladesh.