Former India head coach Ravi Shastri acknowledged that Australian opener Sam Konstas rattled India with an aggressive debut knock in the 2024-25 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Shastri, however, urged the 19-year-old to prioritize scoring runs over unnecessary aggression.
Konstas impressed with a quickfire 60 off 65 balls on his Test debut at the MCG but found himself in controversy. He had a heated exchange with Virat Kohli after being shoulder-barged and later clashed verbally with Jasprit Bumrah in the following Test.
On the ICC Review, Shastri noted that Konstas disrupted India’s plans but cautioned him against letting his enthusiasm overshadow his focus on performance.
“I think it was more the exuberance of youth. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof. He wanted to announce himself straight away. There was a lot of talk. He’s someone who’ll take the attack to the opposition. And he wanted to walk the talk. And he did that,” Shastri commented.
“He flustered India, there’s no doubt about that, in Melbourne. But my advice to him would be ‘you’ve got talent, the focus should be on scoring runs more than anything else’. You focus on your strengths. You play the way you want,” the 62-year-old went on to add.
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“I believe the Sri Lanka tour will be helpful in many ways”- Shastri on Konstas
After securing their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final with a 3-1 victory over India, Australia is set to face Sri Lanka in a two-match away Test series. Shastri feels the tour will aid the youngster’s development, stating:
“I think the tour of Sri Lanka in many ways will help. Getting out of Australia, playing overseas, and then getting to learn a lot of other things and maturing.”
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Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting warned that Konstas cannot sustain his Test career batting as he did at the MCG. He urged the youngster to learn and adapt for long-term success, stating on the ICC Review show:
“I don’t think he can survive as a Test opening batsman playing like that all the time. So he will learn a lot from the first couple of games that he played as a batsman, but just as an international sportsman as well, I think he’ll learn a lot.
“It’s a big stage and he really enjoyed it at the MCG. But I’ve seen this happen a lot with young players. They come in, they get overawed by everything a little bit, and it takes them a few games or a few series just to actually work out who they are and who they need to be successful international players,” the Aussie legend concluded.
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