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Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting believes Nathan McSweeney is the ideal candidate to open the batting for Australia in the upcoming five-match Test series against India. Since the retirement of David Warner, Australia has struggled to find a reliable opening partner for Steve Smith, who was promoted to the top of the order. However, Smith's form as an opener has been inconsistent, prompting the team management to consider a change.
Ricky Ponting bats for Nathan McSweeney as Australia's opener for Border-Gavaskar Trophy
With experienced options like Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris, as well as promising youngsters Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas vying for the opening spot, the Australian team is currently evaluating their options. Ponting has recently expressed his preference for McSweeney to fill the void left by Warner.
"I was put on the spot about a week ago, and I sort of immediately went to the young guy, Sam Konstas. He had come off back-to-back hundreds against South Australia. Then I thought a bit more about it and, he is so young and he has probably not even played on grounds like Optus (Perth) Stadium or at The Gabba," Ponting said on the 'ICC Review Show'.
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Ponting further elaborated on his choice of McSweeney, highlighting the player's recent impressive performances as a key factor in his selection.
"The only name left for me more or less is Nathan McSweeney, who is Queensland-born now playing for South Australia. He got the most out of any of those guys from the 'A' game in Australia at the moment. And he's more experienced. He has captained Australia A in the past, and he's captaining them now. So, I'm leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer,” he added.
McSweeney's exceptional batting track record
McSweeney has been in exceptional form in the Sheffield Shield, scoring 291 runs in four innings, including a century and two half-centuries. He has also impressed in the Australia A tour of India, contributing scores of 39 and 47* in the ongoing four-day match against India A.
With a strong first-class record of 2086 runs in 32 matches, including six centuries and eleven half-centuries, McSweeney is eager to capitalize on his recent form and secure a spot in the Australian Test team.
While Australia are yet to announce their squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Rohit Sharma-led India's 15-member side has already been revealed.
India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Travelling reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
The Schedule
First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium
Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval (D/N)
Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne
Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney
