Melbourne, Australia

Australia skipper Pat Cummins has backed teen batter Sam Konstas to 'have fun' ahead of his upcoming debut in the Boxing day Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Konstas, who is set to open alongside Usman Khawaja, will replace Nathan McSweeney at the top. Cummins also remembered his debut as an 18-year-old and shared a funny anecdote as well.

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"I think you always want to do well (but) I was saying this to Sam the other day, I remember that as an 18-year-old, I was thinking I got a lot more leeway because I was young. It almost felt like if I didn’t have a great game, it wasn’t my fault. It was the selectors’ fault for picking me. I was like, ‘Well, they’re the idiots who picked an 18-year-old.’ You’re so young starting out your career (and) it’s Boxing Day. It doesn’t get any better than this, so just enjoy the moment," said Cummins at the pre-match press conference as shared by cricket.com.au.

Also Read: BGT 2024-25: Jasprit Bumrah equals Ravi Ashwin's historic feat ahead of Boxing Day Test

"It’s pretty awesome. I spent a bit of the time wondering why or how I was there (because) it happened so quickly. I just remember being really excited and I think, similar to Sammy this week, there’s a level of naivety that you just want to go out and play like you do when you’re a kid in the backyard. You just want to take the game on and have fun and … not overthink it. So that’s the message of Sam," Cummins said in the same press conference.

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"That’s definitely how I felt as an 18-year-old. I was just really excited. And once the kind of game started, you go into game mode and it’s just like any other game," he added.

Konstas, despite playing only 11 First Class games, has hit the limelight with his aggressive style of play. He has scored 718 runs in these 11 games at an average of 42 with three fifties and two hundreds.

The Boxing Day Test, fourth of the five-match series, begins December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).