Finch scored just one half-century (58) in five matches for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with his other four scores coming in at a very poor average of seven.
The 35-year-old was also battling a knee injury during Australia’s victorious T20 World Cup tournament last year.
Australian head coach Andrew McDonald and national selector George Bailey both continue to give ratings to the struggling captain, placing great emphasis on what he brings to the table in terms of his leadership qualities.
Watson, however, feels that being a good captain should not be enough to make it into the team, especially as Finch has been longing for runs in the T20 format recently.
Shane Watson told the grade cricketer, “Unfortunately, right now, the way he is batting and what I have seen during this IPL, he (Finch) is not batting anywhere near his best.”
“Whatever is going on, the things he is working on with his technique and mindset has changed a lot from the place where he was giving his best performance.
“I believe if he is not scoring runs in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, and it is similar to what we saw here for KKR, then you cannot pick him.
“At the moment he is so out of touch, no matter how good your captaincy skills are, if he continues to bat like that, it will be a huge responsibility, especially as an opener.
“It’s such an important role to play to give the team a good start.
“He’s an incredibly good batsman – I’ve batted with him when he scored 150 against England at the Rose Bowl, he’s a world-class batsman, an incredible short-form batsman – but to see that his Where is the game now, it will be interesting to see.
“I believe it should be team selection, based on performance, then you should appoint a captain, especially if you are out of touch.”
The next edition of the T20 World Cup begins on October 16 and will be held in Australia, with the hosts of the tournament taking on the defending champions New Zealand at the SCG on October 22 in the first game.