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Australia will face Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series. The series opener is scheduled to take place at Galle International Stadium from January 29, and the second match will also be played at the same venue from February 6.
Ricky Ponting wants Sam Konstas to open for Australia in Test series against Sri Lanka. (Picture Credit: AP, AFP)
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting wants Sam Konstas to open for the Baggy Greens in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which starts on January 29 in Galle. The 19-year-old Konstas made his Test debut for the Australian team in the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last year and scored 60 off 65 balls in the first innings. But despite his good show with the bat in the first series, there are talks of Travis Head partnering Usman Khawaja at the top for the Aussies in the upcoming away series.
But Ponting, who has donned the hat of an expert now, wants Aussies to stick with Konstas. According to him, Sri Lanka is a hard place to tour and win series, but Australian team management should play Kontas because the series will be a big learning experience for him.
“I think they’ll pick Konstas, and I think they should pick Konstas. He’s the one they’ve identified; he’s hit the ground running here in his first innings as well. He provided a lot of entertainment and a lot of buzz around that whole series. I think they need to play him, to be honest. It’s a hard place to play and a hard place to win. It’ll be a hard place to bat for all of our guys, but especially some of the younger guys who haven’t experienced those conditions much in the past. But I think they should pick him. It’ll be a great learning experience for him,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Getting out of Australia and away from some of that buzz and hype that’s surrounded him for the summer will probably do him some good as well, and he gets to learn a bit of what the travelling life of an international cricketer is all about and how hard it can be to play in different parts of the world. I’d be picking him if I was a selector,” he added.
Australia, which has already qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final, will play under the leadership of Steve Smith in the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The right-handed batter, who has 9999 runs to his name in Test cricket, was named as Australian captain for the away series in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is dealing with injury-related issues.
