The young sensation Sam Konstas says he is ready to play test cricket this summer, believing he is in the right place to debut for Australia.
Konstas came back to the spotlight after smashing a 90-ball century in the practice match against Prime Minister’s Xl in Canberra. The 19-year-old is a step above with only one other batsman in the PM’s Xl top or middle order passing five runs.
Konstas has been the talk of the summer when he became the youngest player to score twin centuries in a Sheffield Shield match since Ricky Ponting.
Nathan McSweeney ultimately won the race to start the Test summer as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner, but Australia’s side is far from set in stone.
Konstas is set to face the toughest challenge in Sheffield Shield this week, against a Western Australian attack expected to feature Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson and Joel Paris.
“I really want the chance, I love being challenged and hopefully that can happen soon,” Sam Konstas said.
“I feel like I’m in a good headspace. It’s been the best few months I’ve had, and hopefully one day I can represent my country.
“For me, it’s focusing about Friday and then trying to score runs to put myself forward. It would be a huge honour to represent my country one day.” Konstas has already earned plenty of Plaudits on his rise this summer.
His mentor Shane Watson, potential opening partner David Warner and Steve Smith are among those to congratulate him on his runs.
The U19 World Cup winner spent most of his teens without social media, only signing up to it recent months in order to promote sponsors.
“I don’t get too fazed about (the hype),” Sam Konstas said. “It’s about being in the present and being the best version of myself, and then hopefully let the result take care of itself.”
Konstas said that he had not been too down about missing out on Test selection for the start of the summer.
“I feel like it’s all part of the journey,” he said. “Unfortunately I didn’t get the runs that I would have liked.
“But I’ve been reflecting on how I could have done better and challenging how they got me out and tactics they used,” concluded Sam Konstas.
Currently, Australia and India are involved in a five match test series where the Men in Blues leads the series 1-0 after a stunning 295-run victory at Perth. The second test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy will begin on December 06 at Adelaide Oval.
