Young Australia opener Sam Konstas opened up on missing out on playing in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. Konstas was named in the Australian squad for the Sri Lanka series after impressing on his debut series against India. However, the 19-year-old failed to find a spot in the playing XI with in-form batter Travis Head being promoted to open the innings alongside Usman Khawaja.
Konstas was further sent back home to participate in the Sheffield Shield tournament where he would be playing for New South Wales against Queensland. He recently shared his thoughts on not getting a chance to play in the ongoing series and said that he was privileged to play alongside big names such as Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head. He also revealed that he had no hard feelings about not making it to the team and called Head a legend of the game.
“I felt like I was very privileged to be in the squad. And obviously learning from the best players like Steve Smith, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja and how their methods are different in those conditions. I learnt quite a bit. I understood the reasons why. For me, it is just a great learning curve and if I do get another opportunity with the Test team I will grab it with both hands. I understand why Travis Head opened the batting because he is a legend of the game and he has been dominating,” Konstas told CODE Sports.
Sam Konstas’ impressive debut vs India
Konstas caught everyone’s attention on his debut against India during the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne. He played an attacking knock of 60 (65) as he took on India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and reverse scooped him for boundaries.
He was also shoulder-charged by Virat Kohli during the game and later said a few words to annoy Bumrah on Day 1 of the fifth Test in Sydney. Konstas finished the series with 113 runs from two matches (four innings) at an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of 81.88.
