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IND vs. OFF: Australia has dropped opener Nathan McSweeney and replaced him with 19-year-old Sam Konstas in its squad for the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), scheduled to begin on December 26 (Thursday). McSweeney’s exclusion is surprising, because although he has not scored big runs, the right-handed batsman has shown encouraging signs in the patches during the first three IND versus AUS Tests.
The 25-year-old McSweeney made his debut for Australia in the first IND vs AUS Test at Perth Stadium and managed to score 10 runs in the match. While the three-Test pacer has scored just 72 runs across the three IND versus AUS Tests, he has drawn praise from critics for his batting technique, especially while leaving the ball.
JUST IN: Australia have added young weapon Sam Konstas to their 15-man squad for the final #Oswin Tests | @ARamseyCricket https://t.co/9P0hGCCqXw
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 20, 2024
Australian national selection committee chairman George Bailey when announcing Konstas’ call-up explained that the decision was driven by the need to find a batsman capable of facing India’s fast bowlers, with McSweeney’s strike rate of just 34 per 100 balls being a major factor in the decision.
“We remain confident that Nathan has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level in the future. It was a difficult decision to leave him out. He has clearly been a challenge at the top of the batsman’s order throughout the series and we want to provide a different XI option for the next two matches, with Sam getting the Called up to the Test team for the first time, his batting style offers a point of difference and we look forward to watching his game develop further,” Bailey said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
(This is breaking news. More to follow…)
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2024-12-20 04:36:28
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