Washington Sundar celebrates the wicket Marnus Labuschagne on day 1 of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne on December 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Minutes before the fourth Test commenced at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on Thursday (December 26, 2024), India stirred the news with some radical selection calls. Shubman Gill was dropped, Washington Sundar was preferred and there were hints about Rohit Sharma surfacing in the top-order.

After the first day’s play, it was assistant coach Abhishek Nayar’s turn to offer his rationale behind India’s choices: “Looking at these conditions and the pitch, having Washi in the bowling attack will give us that variation, especially when the ball gets old. After the 50 overs, we felt that was an area we wanted to get better at. We felt Washi could give us that solidarity with Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), especially with Travis Head and Alex Carey getting runs lower down.”

Explaining further, Nayar said: “Rohit will come up in the order and more likely than not, he will open the innings. Unfortunately for Gill, he had to miss out. He understands it’s the team’s requirement and it’s unfortunate, but I wouldn’t say that he has been dropped. It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t find his place in this game.”

Nayar then acted coy when asked about the episode involving Virat Kohli and debutant Sam Konstas: “Honestly, I don’t know. We were having a conversation outside. I am not aware of what happened, why it happened and if anything happened. But when you play a game like that, there will be emotions, but I am pretty sure that it’s not as big as it seems.”

Konstas drew praise too when Nayar added: “We saw him in the Prime Minister’s XI game when he got a 100 against us. We knew what we were up against. It’s always refreshing to see someone come and play good cricket, whether that’s our team or the opposition. So, credit to him.”

Virat Kohli, right, talks to Australia’s Sam Konstas, as Australia’s Usman Khawaja, looks on during play on the first day of the fourth cricket test in Melbourne on December 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Fiery shots on the field, soft words off it, and a wisp of a moustache, constitute the style quotient of Sam Konstas. The 19-year-old, who lit up the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with his rapid 60, faced the media after setting up a nice base for Australia here in the fourth Test on Thursday (December 26, 2024).

His first utterance had a sense of wonder: “It was quite surreal with the big crowd, the biggest crowd I have ever played in. The boys welcomed me, so I just played with that freedom and backed myself and was lucky to get a few runs. Obviously, disappointed with the way I got out but hopefully we got a bit of momentum.”

In the cauldron of international cricket, Konstas had to deal with the rough edges too and one such was when Virat Kohli’s shoulder brushed the batter’s and angry words were exchanged. “I was just doing my gloves and I think he accidentally bumped me. I think that’s just cricket, just the tension,” the opener said and seemingly doused the fire.

Probed about his assault on Jasprit Bumrah, Konstas explained: “He is a legend of the game so I was trying to put a bit of pressure on him and it paid off. But he took three wickets and changed the momentum. In that contest with him, I was trying to take his lines away. It was the first time I was facing him, getting used to his action, and obviously he beat my bat a few times and it was a great contest.”

Elaborating on the ramp shots and scoops, Konstas added: “Yeah, definitely premeditated especially with the pace but just tried to keep my head still and just watch it hard. Got a few away today and it changed the field, which was good.”