Australia will have no hesitation in throwing teenage prodigy Sam Konstas in to open the batting in the blockbuster battle against India if they feel he is in their best XI.
The 19-year-old is firming for a Test debut this summer after a brilliant start to the Sheffield Shield season for NSW.
Konstas smashed twin Shield centuries this month, then performed admirably in last week’s loss against Victoria on a spicy MCG pitch.
Australian selectors have often erred on the side of caution when weighing up whether to pick young players, especially in marquee Tests against India and England.
India, who on Saturday suffered a historic home Test series loss against New Zealand, will be trying desperately to maintain their grip on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and have been successful on their past two tours of Australia.
“Any time we’re picking a Test team … we’re picking the best team for here and now,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald told ABC TV’s Offsiders on Sunday.
“If that does encompass a younger player, then we’ll head down that direction.
“Clearly Sam Konstas on the back of his first Shield match, and the way he went about his work in the second innings at the MCG against Scott Boland has definitely made some noise.
“If they’re ready, they’re ready in our mind, and if Sam’s capable and we feel as though he’s capable to fill that spot, I don’t think the opponent should come into the equation.
“You’ve got to start against someone, and you shouldn’t be so-called holding back and protecting someone from a potential opponent.”
McDonald will not rush into picking Usman Khawaja’s opening partner, declaring selectors will wait until after the second Australia A-India A match, starting at the MCG on November 7.
The vacancy at the top came about after the Steve Smith opening experiment lasted just four Tests.
Smith last week denied asking for a return to No.4, but admitted it’s his preferred spot to bat for Australia.
The star veteran’s thoughts appeared to contradict what chairman of selectors George Bailey had previously said about Smith asking not to open.
McDonald didn’t believe Smith had been “sensitive” about the move following Australia’s previous Test in March against New Zealand.
Sam Konstas. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
“On the back of New Zealand, we checked in around that opening position,” the coach said.
“We believe that this challenge, moving forward against India, the best thing for the team is to move Steve away from that opening position.”
McDonald laughed off David Warner’s “tongue-in-cheek” suggestion about being open to coming out of retirement to again play for Australia.
Warner bowed out of Test cricket in January at the SCG, creating the chance for Smith to open for the first time in his international career.
“His comments, a lot of people ran with,” McDonald said.
“David’s retired and he had a magnificent send-off last year … we had no conversations about David coming back.”
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