Sam Konstas kicked out by Travis Head in Sri Lanka

The Australia National Cricket Team is all set to field the new openers in the upcoming two-match Test series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The first Test of the much-awaited series will get underway on Wednesday, January 29, at the Galle International Stadium.

Galle will also host the second and final Test between Sri Lanka and Australia from February 6. They will also face each other in the two-match ODI series after the Test series, which will be the last series of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 (WTC 2023-25).

Australia set for Sri Lanka Tests with fresh opening pair

Well, the young Australian opener Sam Konstas will have to make way for the experienced Travis Head at the top of the order in the upcoming two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. Travis Head will partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the batting order in the playing XI.

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However, Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith hinted that Sam Konstas might still have a chance to fit into the playing XI, with a vacant No. 5 spot up for grabs after Head was promoted in the batting order. Konstas made a strong impact in his debut Test, playing a key role in Australia's first Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 win over India in a decade.

However, Australia's move to bring back Travis Head as an opener isn't surprising, as he already proved his worth in the role during the 2023 India tour in the absence of David Warner.

Travis Head to open with Usman Khawaja against Sri Lanka

With Sri Lanka's strong spin attack likely to make scoring tough, the Australian team is luring at Head's aggressive approach to provide a quick and confident start at the top of the order apart from his ability to counter-spin and score quick runs.

Steve Smith was quoted as saying by AAP: “He (Head) did really 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. Just playing what's in front of us, it's quite different from back home on the surfaces we've been playing on there, where it's very pace-dominant. We'd imagine this is going to be quite spin-dominant.”

Meanwhile, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Cooper Connolly, and Josh Inglis are in contention for the middle-order spot following Head's promotion to the top of the order for Sri Lanka Tests. Josh Inglis is yet to make his Test debut but impressed with an average of 72.60 for Western Australia this Shield season.

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Sam Konstas likely to sit on Sri Lanka Test tour

Nathan McSweeney struggled in his first three Tests, averaging just 14.40 against India. However, he recently scored an unbeaten 127. On the other hand, 21-year-old Cooper Connolly, with only four first-class games, is highly regarded by Cricket Australia. Both Connolly and McSweeney offer part-time off-spin, which could be valuable on Galle's spin-friendly pitch.

Well, Steve Smith remained tight-lipped about the playing XI for the two-match Test series opener against Sri Lanka but hinted that even if Sam Konstas doesn't make the final lineup, he can still benefit from valuable practice in the nets to adapt to the conditions.

Smith signed off by saying, “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. 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. We'll have another look at the wicket, and from there we'll name the team at the toss.”