Less than three months after turning 19, Konstas is set to become the second-youngest Australian since 1953, and their youngest Test opener of all time.

Konstas enjoyed a rapid ascendancy through age-group cricket, and first hit the headlines on the 2023 tour of England with Australia U19s. He hit 105 not out in his second Youth ODI, at Beckenham. Less than two weeks later, he smashed a 64-ball unbeaten 84 not out to help seal a chase of 191 on Youth Test debut, at Worcester.

Konstas was part of the Australian side that won the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year. The highlight of his series was the 108 against the West Indies.

His talent had been obvious, and he was rated highly by the pundits, but he needed to make a mark in senior cricket. That happened in October 2024, when he smashed his firs and then his second hundred in first-class cricket, both in the same match against South Australia. He became the youngest to score two hundreds in a Sheffield Shield match since Ricky Ponting in 1993.

When David Warner retired after the Pakistan series of 2023-24, Steve Smith filled the gap by volunteering to open batting with Cam Green moving up to four. However, when Smith announced that he would not open against India, the quest for Usman Khawaja’s opening partner continued. This was further complicated by an injury to Green that ruled him out of the series. Prior to his injury, the general assumption was that another one of the Australia middle-order would move up to partner Khawaja.

For the two first-class matches against India A, the selectors slotted four candidates in the top four of the Australia A side. Captain Nathan McSweeney, who bats in the middle order in domestic cricket, impressed the most in the first game, with 39 and 88 not out. Opening the batting, Konstas made 0 and 16. The two other candidates, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, had unfortunately timed dips in form, particularly Bancroft who averages 20 in this year's Sheffield Shield.

In the second match, McSweeney 14 and 25. Konstas, on the other hand, came out at 1-2 in the fourth innings, finished on 73 not out, and helped Australia A chase 168.

The selectors chose McSweeney for the Test series. From three Tests, he made 72 runs at 14.40 without reaching 40. Perhaps more telling was his struggle against Jasprit Bumrah, who snared him four times in a row. He lost his place to Konstas.

Konstas, meanwhile, made 107 for the Prime Minister’s XI against the Indians and 88 against Western Australia, and hit the fastest ever fifty for the Sydney Thunder on his BBL debut, off only 20 balls.

He will now make his Test debut, the fourth youngest Australian to do it for his men's Test team and the youngest since his new skipper, Pat Cummins.

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