George Bailey and other selectors receive backlash for dropping Nathan McSweeney
Nathan McSweeney who made his debut for Australia in this series and played in the first three Tests has been dropped from the squad for the final two Tests
Australian selectors and their chief, George Bailey, have faced criticism for dropping young opener Nathan McSweeney from the squad for the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. McSweeney, who made his debut in the series opener in Perth, was omitted after playing the first three Tests against India.
Australia's young opener Nathan McSweeney who made his much-awaited debut during the Perth Test will miss the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Test series following series of dismal outings with the bat. In the three Test matches thus far, McSweeney has scored 10, 0, 39, 10*, 9, and 4.
Nathan McSweeney has been replaced by Sam Konstas in the squad, a 19-year-old opener from New South Wales. Before the season, Konstas was vying for the position that David Warner had left open, but the management decided to start with McSweeney instead.
Bailey said, "In the lead up to the series, he was performing incredibly well. I think the key around that [selection] was [around] his methodology and the way he plays. We believed it doesn’t change too much wherever he’s coming in the order. It hasn’t quite worked out as you’d like it to, but it’s still very much the start of his career"
Michael Clarke, a former cricket player for Australia, has blasted the selection committee for leaving Nathan McSweeney out of the previous two Test matches against India. Clarke, who believed he should have had a lengthy tenure at the head of the order, has not taken well to his dropping.
Clarke talked about this on the Beyond 23 Cricket podcast,"Nathan McSweeney has been dropped. I can't believe that. No matter who they picked in that opening position, they had to give them the series. I think the selectors have got this wrong. We've got Usman Khawaja who is 38 years old, and he's made no runs. He's a senior player."
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head (vc), Steve Smith (vc), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
