Sam Konstas to debut at Melbourne in 4th India vs Australia Test
Sam Konstas will pad up for Australia in the the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne, beginning on December 26, Australian men’s coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed.
The teenager will be the fourth-youngest Australian Test debutant when he plays for Australia two days from now.Currently aged 19 years and 85 days, Sam Konstas will play his first Test under Pat Cummins, who himself debuted as an 18-year-old in South Africa in 2011.
Sam Konstas will fill in the boots of Nathan McSweeney, who has been axed after an under-par performance in the series so far. The India vs Australia Test series is finely poised at 1-1 with the third Test at the Gabba having ended in a draw, thanks to the rain Gods in Brisbane.
The rest of Australia’s XI is yet to be finalised for the fourth Test. Travis Head is yet to pass a late fitness test to take part. Australia coach McDonald said Head sustained a quad strain late in the third Test while batting. However, it’s likely that he will take part in Melbourne.
“Sam’s composed, relaxed, and has shown an array of shots. What stood out was his ability to put pressure back on opponents,” McDonald told the media.
Australia Test squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India Test squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal
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