Australia is set to play Sri Lanka in a two-match from 29th January.
Australia has finalized Travis Head as the opening partner of Usman Khwaja in the first test match. During the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Khwaja was partnered by Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas.
It looks like Australia is switching back to the old formula in the sub-continent that worked for them in 2023.
Steve Smith talked to the match ahead of the match. He said, “He (Head) did nicely in India against the new ball. He put spinners under pressure immediately and we know how well he hits the seam as well if they come with that. It’s going to be good fun watching him.”
However, he didn’t name the eleven players they’ll play in the first test. “We’ll wait and see what we get, probably the morning of the game, and then go from there. But things can change pretty quickly, in this part of the world, the sun hasn’t been out a great deal. So we’ll have another look at the wicket, and then from there, we’ll name a team at the toss,” he said.
When asked about the promising start of Konstas, he pointed out the positives of having him around. “He’s going to have a lot of practice over here if he doesn’t play, which, in itself, is great as well for development. You know, I only have to think back to 2013 I think, where I didn’t play the first few tests, and just the amount of balls I was hitting in the nets, and the skills I was able to develop from facing loads of net bowlers and things like that. So whether he plays or not, I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience for him. He’s going to learn a lot.”
He also mentioned the injury he sustained during the BBL. He confirmed that he recovered from the elbow injury. “Fortunately, it was all mainly muscle, it settled down pretty quickly. I’m actually batting without tape.”