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After getting his maiden call-up for the Australian men's cricket team in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series, young batting sensation Sam Konstas said that he has a few plans against the Indian bowlers.
Konstas recieved his maiden call-up from the national team as host Australia announced their Test squad for the remaining two matches of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 which are set to be played in Melbourne and Sydney. Speaking on the Fox broadcast, Konstas said that McSweeney congratulated him for getting his maiden Test call for Australia. The youngster also hailed McSweeney and called him a "good player" in all three formats. "Nathan McSweeney is a very good player in all three formats and he actually congratulated me this morning. We're very close mates and I wish him all the best," Konstas was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald as saying. The 19-year-old shared how their parents reacted when they got to know about his maiden selection and said that his mother was in tears and his father was super proud. "Mum was in tears. I was telling her not to cry and Dad was super proud. It's been an amazing journey, all the ups and downs, very grateful for their sacrifice. They've been great support to me. It'd be a huge honour debuting. A dream come true. I think it's a sellout already, so I think family and friends will be there as well," he added. Konstas added that he want to be challenged in the prestigious BGT series against India. He also hoped to get an opportunity in the playing eleven. "I've very excited. I want to be challenged and I've got a few plans against those [Indian] bowlers. Feeling like I'm moving really nice and hopefully I get that opportunity," he added. Konstas played a vital role in Australia's ICC U19 World Cup 2024 triumph, scoring 191 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.28, including a century. He also featured in a two-match series between Australia A and India A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scoring 92 runs in four innings, highlighted by a match-winning 73*. In the warm-up pink-ball game against India, he stamped his authority with a classy 107 off 97 balls against a formidable Indian attack. In the ongoing Sheffield Shield season, Konstas is the fifth-highest run-getter with 471 runs in five matches at an average of 58.87, including two centuries and a fifty, with a best score of 152. Australia has made a couple of changes to its squad, addressing the absence of Josh Hazlewood and concerns in the top order. India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Australia 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. (ANI)
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