“They’re the idiots who picked an 18-year-old” - Pat Cummins backs bold selection call for BGT 2024-25 4th Test

Australia skipper Pat Cummins has backed 19-year-old Sam Konstas to bat with freedom in the all-important fourth Border-Gavaskar series Test against India in Melbourne, starting December 26. The five-match series is currently tied at 1-1, with both teams picking up one win each in the first two Tests before the drawn outing in Brisbane.

The hosts went with Nathan McSweeney to partner veteran batter Usman Khawaja at the top in the first three Tests. However, McSweeney scored only 72 runs at an average of 14.40, forcing Australia to drop him in favor of a more attacking option in Konstas.

Speaking at the press conference on the eve of the Boxing Day Test, Cummins relieved Konstas of any possible inhibitions ahead of his debut, saying (via Fox Sports):

"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."

Cummins debuted for Australia at just 18 during the 2011 tour of South Africa and shone with a Player of the Match performance on Test debut in Johannesburg.

"Play like you do when you’re a kid in the backyard" - Pat Cummins to Sam Konstas

Australia Men's Test Squad Training Session - Source: Getty

Pat Cummins believes debuting at a young age enables a cricketer to play with a sense of naivety and freedom. His message for Sam Konstas was along similar lines.

The 19-year-old is renowned for his aggressive batting despite a first-class strike rate of under 52 in 11 outings. However, Konstas averages an impressive 42.23 with two centuries and three half-centuries.

"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.

"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 has scored a century and two half-centuries in his last four innings across formats in the Australian domestic circuit.