Teenager Konstas to make debut in fourth test against India

MELBOURNE :Teenager Sam Konstas will make his test debut in the cauldron of the Boxing Day test at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday as Australia look to take the game to India's bowlers, coach Andrew McDonald said on Tuesday.

Konstas, 19, was brought into the squad at the expense of Nathan McSweeney after Australia's top order struggled for runs in the first three tests of the series, which is tied 1-1 with two games to play.

"He's composed, relaxed, knows his game is in a good place at the moment, he'll play Boxing Day," McDonald told reporters at the MCG.

"We said from the get-go that age was no barrier. And what he's shown is an array of shots, the ability to put pressure back onto opponents and he gets his opportunity.

"We're really excited for him, Boxing Day, the biggest stage. He might as well get that one out of the way early."

With bowlers, particularly Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, having had the upper hand in the series so far, McDonald said switching McSweeney for Konstas was a tactical move.

"We want to throw a different challenge at India at this point in time," he said.

"We believe Nathan is good enough for test level. We weren't sure about how the top order was functioning. We challenged ourselves for that decision. Whether it works or not, time will tell (but) we're really confident that Sam can do the job."

McDonald was also confident Travis Head, who has scored 409 runs with two centuries in the first three tests, would be fit to play despite a quad strain preventing him from training on Monday.

"Has he got some things to work through? Yeah, he has," McDonald said.

"There's no concern at the moment. Has he been officially ticked off? I'm not sure. I didn't see the back end of his training