NEWS
Follow UsAustralia’s chief selector, George Bailey, has hinted that Travis Head could play as an opener in the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka starting on January 29.
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney, who all opened at some point in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, are also part of the Australian squad.
Both Konsas and McSweeney only made their Test debut in the last series, while Head opened in a couple of Tests against India in 2023 and did quite well. The left-hander smashed 180 runs across four innings at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 67.7.
"Trav's an option (to open). We've got a number of options and there's been a few preliminary discussions around where that may land, and that may depend on the makeup of that first XI,” said Bailey.
“I think Andrew (McDonald, head coach) and Steve (Smith, captain) will settle on that in due course, once we hit Sri Lanka."
Khawaja also has superb numbers in Asia as an opener, crafting 1195 runs in 19 innings at an average of 74.69. Konstas might not have any experience of playing in Sri Lanka but Bailey believes that the 19-year-old will find a way to adjust to those spin-friendly conditions.
"I guess in truth, you never really know (how they'll handle particular conditions) until someone's faced with them. What we have seen is he's a quick learner. (He) absorbs a lot of information,” he said.
"So (we're) expecting him to get to get a lot out of it. I know from his spin play in Australia, and the opportunities he's (had) in different parts of the world, we think he's got a game that's well suited, and a technique that can stand up.
"But that's one of the exciting things about this tour – we will learn a bit more about his game in different conditions to what he's just faced in Australia."
The Australian squad will travel to the UAE next week for a pre-Sri Lanka training camp.
