Since his arrival in the longest format of the game during the fourth of the five-match series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 on Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the young right-handed opening batter of Australia, Sam Konstas, has caught the eyes of former players around the globe and fans, who have enjoyed the New South Wales batter’s different style of batting.
Sam Konstas was part of the second first-class contest against India A at the same ground before the beginning of the series, where he grabbed the selectors’ attention with an unbeaten 73-run knock. But he still missed the cut as the national selectors went with young Nathan McSweeney for the third three fixtures.
In between this, during the two-night pink-ball encounter against the touring Indian side at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, the 19-year-old smashed a 107-run knock against the bowling attack, which consisted of Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, Mohammad Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and others.
It was a superb start for the youngster at the opening position for the national side. Sam Konstas, two days before the start of the MCG Test, looked quite aggressive in his words and portrayed how he had planned to tackle the bowling of the premier fast bowler of the visitors, Jasprit Bumrah, who by then had already made it incredibly hard for the home batters.
Steve Harmison will be happy if Australia opens with Sam Konstas in the Ashes 2025/26
The Sydney-born batter used his feet in the early overs against the Ahmedabad-born before looking to ramp the pacer over the head of the wicket-keeper for a few fours. The first couple of attempts didn’t work out smoothly, but later, when the ball met the sweet part of the willow, the result shocked the entire public of the ground and the Indian players.
Sam Konstas drilled Bumrah down the ground for a few big shots to notch up 60 runs in 65 deliveries with the help of six boundaries and a couple of over boundaries at the strike rate of more than 90. He followed the same tactics in both innings of the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The surface was quite juicy and was helping the fast bowlers consistently, but the 19-year-old used his feet to deviate the bowlers from their line and length.
Despite all of these, the former England fast bowler, Steve Harmison, dropped a surprising verdict on the young opener’s future where he claimed that either the right-handed batter won’t be playing ten or more Tests or he would become a superstar if he delivers.
“Part of me thinks Sam Konstas won’t play even 10 Test matches. Part of me thinks this kid can be an absolute superstar if he delivers. He’s got the chat, he’s got the ramps, he’s got the scoops, he’s got the big shots, but has he got a defensive technique to open the batting in Test match cricket against the world’s best?” Steve Harmison expressed on TalkSport Cricket.
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Sam Konstas has impressed the former pacer with his aggression, but the doubts were rooted in the unpolished defensive tactics. The Indian pacer managed to expose the batter’s technical weakness.
“I look at him and think he just wants to be David Warner, and technically, he’s nowhere near as good as David, and that for me if he is opening the batting against England, I’d be happy. I really would. I know we are a really long way away from The Ashes.” The former fast bowler addressed.
The next biggest challenge for Konstas will be against spin as he will face Sri Lanka in a two-match away series in Galle.