Australia announced their playing XI for the Boxing Day Test match against India starting Thursday and the hosts made two massive changes to their side. Scott Boland made his way into the playing XI in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood while teenage opener Sam Konstas replaced Nathan McSweeney. Kontas is all set to become Australia’s youngest Test debutant since skipper Pat Cummins took the field against South Africa at Johannesburg back in 2011. In another major boost, Travis Head was declared fit.
Aggressive number five Head is the highest run scorer in the five-match series, plundering centuries at both Adelaide and Brisbane.
He picked up a minor thigh strain at the Gabba and there were lingering concerns about his fitness, but skipper Pat Cummins said the left-hander was fine.
“Trav is good to go, so he will play. He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday,” said Cummins. “No stress, no worries about injury for Trav, so he will go into the game fully fit.
“I don’t think you’ll see too much management of him through the game. Maybe around fielding if he’s a bit uncomfortable, but he’s fully fit,” he added.
Head has slammed 409 runs at an average of 81.80 across the first three Tests, dominating India as other Australian batters have struggled from the threat posed by pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
“It feels like the last 12 months he’s been in this unbelievable vein of form and he just keeps going,” Cummins said of Head.
“He’s hitting the ball really cleanly and you can see the pressure he shifts back onto the opposition, literally from the first ball he walks out there.
“I’m loving that he is in our team. Long may it continue.”
The five-match series is tied at 1-1 after India won by 295 runs in Perth before being crushed by 10 wickets at Adelaide. The rain-affected third Test in Brisbane was drawn.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
(With AFP inputs)
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