Australia get Head boost, India ponder Rohit switch

India are also considering bringing in a second spinner at the expense of pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy

By Reuters

Published: Wed 25 Dec 2024, 4:30 PM

In-form Australian batter Travis Head will be fit for the fourth Test and India are considering restoring captain Rohit Sharma to the opener's slot for the match starting in Melbourne on Thursday.

Head is the leading run scorer in the five-Test series but the left-hander suffered a quad strain in Brisbane.

Home captain Pat Cummins confirmed Head would retain his place in the middle order as Australia chase a 2-1 lead after rain thwarted their victory charge in the last game.

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"He ticked off some final things today and yesterday, but no stress, no worries about injury for Trav," Cummins told reporters after training on Wednesday.

"He'll go into the game fully fit. I don't think you'll see too much management of him throughout the game ... maybe around fielding if he's a bit uncomfortable."

Head has 409 runs from five innings in the series, including two hundreds and a fifty, and averages nearly 82.

Australia have made two changes.

Teenage opener Sam Konstas will make his debut in place of Nathan McSweeney in front of a sellout Boxing Day crowd at the MCG.

Seamer Scott Boland comes in for the injured Josh Hazlewood with the temperature forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius on day one.

India, lucky to escape with a draw in the rain-blighted third Test, are also considering changing their opening combination.

Captain Rohit missed the opening Test to be with his newborn son in Mumbai and KL Rahul, who replaced him as Yashasvi Jaiswal's partner, retained his place in Adelaide and Brisbane.

An out-of-form Rohit batted in the middle order in the last two Tests but his run drought continued as he managed only 19 runs in three innings.

Rahul is likely to drop to number three, Indian media reported.

India are also considering bringing in a second spinner at the expense of pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

The series is level at 1-1 and India will retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy if they win in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Konstas will open the batting for Australia, coach Andrew McDonald said.

Konstas was called up after selectors dumped McSweeney after just three Tests, with the 19-year-old tasked with fending off Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah alongside an under-performing Usman Khawaja.

"He'll play Boxing Day," McDonald told reporters, referring to the teenager as "composed, relaxed".

"We have said from the get-go, leading into this summer, that we wouldn't shy away and age was no barrier.

"What he's shown is an array of shots and an ability to put pressure back on his opponents and he gets his opportunity.

"Really excited for him -- Boxing Day, the biggest stage."

Konstas will become Australia's youngest Test debutant since current skipper Cummins took the field against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2011

It could be a baptism of fire, with an expected 90,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and temperatures forecast to reach 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

Konstas thrust himself into the frame after becoming the youngest player since Ricky Ponting to score two centuries in the same Sheffield Shield match.

He also slammed a century playing for the Prime Minister's XI against India.