Australia made a couple of changes to their squad ahead of the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series against India by adding teenaged opener Sam Konstas at the expense of Nathan McSweeney, besides drafting in pacer Jhye Richardson after a three-year hiatus as a cover for injured Josh Hazlewood although Scott Boland is expected to come into the XI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Ever since the retirement of David Warner in January, Australia have struggled to sort out their top order conundrum, and had tried Steve Smith for sometime before opting for McSweeney in the lead-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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However, McSweeney’s struggles against India’s pace ace Jasprit Bumrah in his debut series has led to his ouster from the squad, and opened the doors for teen sensation Konstas as the only other specialist opener alongside Usman Khawaja (with auxiliary batter Josh Inglis regarded a middle-order option). Allrounder Beau Webster is also retained in the 15-player group. Brendan Doggett, who was called in as cover when Hazlewood was first injured in Perth, did not make this squad but Sean Abbott was retained.

If the right-handed Konstas, who turned 19 on October 2 this year, receive a Baggy Green cap on Boxing Day he would become Australia’s youngest Test debutant since current skipper Pat Cummins when he took the field against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2011.

Konstas has made a blazing start to his first full summer in senior career cricket after starring at the under-19 World Cup in South Africa early this year. He posted 152 and 105 in New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield opener against South Australia, then made an unbeaten 73 for Australia A at the MCG against an India A attack that included incumbent Test allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Selection chair George Bailey believes Konstas will perform well if he wins selection and thinks the inclusion of Webster, Abbott and Richardson provides the team with better balance for the final two Tests of the series.

“Sam gets a call up to the Test squad for the first time. His style of batting offers a point of difference and we look forward to watching his game develop further,” Bailey said.

“The squad provides options as to how we structure the XI for the final two Tests of the series. In the absence of Josh Hazlewood, Jhye provides further options in the fast bowling space. It has been pleasing to see his successful return throughout the early part of the domestic summer,” he added.

Bailey also sympathised with McSweeney after the rookie right-hander was axed from the squad, and expressed confidence on the right-hander’s ability to succeed at the Test level in the future. McSweeney, who had never opened in professional cricket before this season, has made 72 runs at 14.40 in the first three Tests.

Apart from the crucial 39 in the first innings in Adelaide that helped Australia negotiate a challenging session against the pink ball under lights, he had a forgettable record against Bumrah with four dismissals for just 15 runs in 66 deliveries. In the second innings at the Gabba, where Australia attempted to set up a game, he laboured to 4 off 25 balls before edging a wide delivery from Akash Deep.

Having said that, McSweeney has not been alone in his struggles with Khawaja averaging 12.60 in the series and Marnus Labuschagne 16.40 despite a half-century in Adelaide.

“We remain confident Nathan has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level in the future. It was a difficult decision to leave him out. It has clearly been a challenge at the top of the order for batters throughout the series and we want to provide the option of a different line up for the next two matches,” Bailey said.

While the focus is more on the Konstas-McSweeney swap, Richardson’s recall to the Test side is also significant after his run of injuries. Since debuting against Sri Lanka in January 2019, he has played only three matches, with the last being a pink-ball game in Adelaide in 2021 when he took his maiden Test five-wicket haul against England.

Australia squad for final two Tests: Pat Cummins (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.