Melbourne, Australia

Nathan McSweeney has been dropped from Australia’s Playing XI for the Boxing Day Test as the Aussies look to avoid another humiliation against India at the venue. Sam Konstas has been roped into the squad with a likely place in Playing XI.

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The news, reported in Australian media earlier, was confirmed on Friday (Dec 20).

McSweeney’s performances did not impress the selectors in the ongoing Boder-Gavaskar Trophy. The Boxing Day Test is set to start on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a venue where India has had an impressive recent record.

Nathan McSweeney dropped

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Having scored 72 runs in six innings during the opening three matches of the BGT, McSweeney has been on the receiving end of heavy criticism. After multiple media reports from CODE Sports and The Sydney Morning Herald, the selectors’ panel led by George Bailey called Konstas- who had impressed in the domestic competitions-  to take the opener’s role.

In six innings during the series, McSweeney, the current South Australia domestic team captain, has failed to make the most of his opportunities.

His top score of 39 came in the first innings of the Adelaide Test while his only unbeaten knock came in the second innings of the same match when Australia needed just 18 runs to win. He has averaged 14.4 during the series, making him a weak link in the side.

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Australia search for redemption

India are unbeaten in their last three Boxing Day Test matches, having won in their previous two visits to the MCG.

Australia have not beaten India since December 2011 when Michael Clarke’s side got the better of MS Dhoni’s side.

In 2014, the Boxing Day Test ended in a draw while India won the same in 2018 and 2020 under Virat Kohli's and Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy respectively.