A different series, a different opponent. But in the discussion, Sam Konstas, this time in a slightly different way.
There is a lot of talk about whether the 19-year-old boy, who has dominated the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, will play against Sri Lanka in Galle. Listening to captain Steve Smith, it seems that Konstas may spend the day practicing in Galle.
Konstas is supposed to play in Galle. He played a brilliant innings of 60 runs in the debut innings in Melbourne. He could not play big innings in Sydney, but his aggressive mentality with the bat kept Australia ahead to some extent.
The reason for konstas absence from playing in Galle could be a tactical decision by Australia. Steve Smith has confirmed that Travis Head, one of Australia’s best in the middle order in the Test, will be seen in the opening in Galle. Usman Khawaja’s place is also confirmed. So how will Konstas play?
Australia captain Smith said ahead of the Galle Test starting tomorrow, “Trav will go up (to open), except that everything else will be the same. I don’t think much is changing. The selectors are satisfied with the performance he has given in India. With the new ball, he was putting pressure on the opponent at the start by scoring quick runs. That’s what I’m thinking here, too. ’
“If he doesn’t play, he’s going to go through a lot of practice, which is also very important for improvement,” Smith said. I can talk about my tour of India in 2013, in which I didn’t play in the first two Tests. The amount of balls I played with the net bowlers, I was able to improve on a lot of things. Whether he plays or not, it will be a great experience for him. Konstas is going to learn a lot.
However, if there is no place in the opening, Australia can also think of Konstas in the middle order. Where he will have to fight with Nathan McSweeney and Josh Inglis. McSweeney played the first three Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His failure gave Konstas a chance. And Inglish did not make his Test debut.