Konstas in 'A' squad picked with eye to next BGT tour

The 19-year-old opener is the only Test incumbent picked for the Australia A tour of India next month

Sam Konstas's road to retaining his Test spot for this summer's Ashes will take a detour after the teenage opener was picked in an Australia A squad for a tour of India next month.

Konstas was the only incumbent Test player picked to face India A in a pair of first-class matches in Lucknow where Australia's focus is squarely on preparing emerging players for the next Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour in early 2027.

Cooper Connolly, Todd Murphy and Nathan McSweeney are the only other Test-capped players in Australia A's 14-man four-day squad.

A less-experienced group has been named for the ensuing three one-dayers in Kanpur. That squad features five players under 21 and none older than 26.

The bulk of the red-ball players will return home for the opening round of the Sheffield Shield season that kicks off on October 4, a week after the second four-day match against India A concludes on September 26.

Australia A four-day squad: Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Aaron Hardie, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Scott Australia A one-day squad: Cooper Connolly, Harry Dixon, Jack Edwards, Sam Elliott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Mackenzie Harvey, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachie Shaw, Tom Straker, Will Sutherland, Callum Vidler

"The subcontinent provides many unique challenges and the opportunity to utilise different skills with bat and ball," selection chief George Bailey said.

"We hope repeated experiences in these conditions will assist players in developing an effective method and understanding of their game for future subcontinent tours.

"For many of these players we remain interested in the development of their short-form cricket as well, but balancing out priorities meant we wanted them back and available for the start of the Sheffield Shield season."

None of the three century-makers from the recent A series against Sri Lanka in Darwin (Jake Weatherald, Jason Sangha and Matthew Renshaw) retained their spots in the squad, although Sangha is among a group of players currently in Chennai on a MRF Academy tour.

Konstas's hold on the Test opening berth ahead of the first Ashes Test in November looks shaky following a rough three-Test tour of the Caribbean.

Diabolically difficult batting pitches made facing the new ball a nightmare, with the 19-year-old failing to pass 25 in six innings.

Konstas became a national sensation last summer after a daring Boxing Day hand on debut against India.

But national selectors have since shown a mindfulness of his relative inexperience.

They dropped him for a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year and have now picked him for his first senior matches on the subcontinent alongside players further back in the Test pecking order.

Other fringe Test players who went to the Caribbean like Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Kuhnemann and Sean Abbott have not been picked for the A tour.

Instead, standout Sheffield Shield performers like McSweeney, Corey Rocchiccioli, Fergus O'Neill, Jack Edwards, Lance Morris and Josh Philippe feature alongside younger players like Ollie Peake and Campbell Kellaway.

In the 14-player one-day squad, the 26-year-old Aaron Hardie is its oldest member.

The boom group of last year's Under-19 World Cup winners (a team that included Konstas and Peake) features heavily in the white-ball A group with Callum Vidler, Harry Dixon and Tom Straker all to make their Australia A debuts.

Hardie, Connolly, Tanveer Sangha and Jake Fraser-McGurk will all have points to prove having been discarded from the ODI group to face South Africa this month. All four had been in Australia's Champions Trophy squad earlier this year.

Sam Elliott and Mackenzie Harvey have been rewarded for strong domestic 50-over seasons in 2024-25, while NSW's Lachie Shaw is a surprise pick to take the gloves having played just four List A games.

Australia A tour of India

September 16-19: First four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST

September 23-26: Second four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST

September 30: First one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST

October 3: Second one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST

October 5: Third one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 4pm AEDT

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