Travis Head to replace Sam Konstas as opener against Sri Lanka

Australian selectors have pulled the trigger on a big shift in the batting line-up for Sri Lanka and it’s not good news for Sam Konstas.

Australian selectors have defied the urgings of former Test captain Ricky Ponting to stick with teen star Sam Konstas in Sri Lanka and elevated Travis Head to open the batting in Wednesday’s first Test in Galle.

Interim Test captain Steve Smith confirmed Head would open with veteran Usman Khawaja, leaving Konstas in limbo for now after his blistering Test entry against India in the Boxing Day Test.

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Only on Monday, Head remained unsure where he would bat but said the batting order being flexible was a topic of conversation not just in Sri Lanka.

Head opened the batting with some success against India in India in 2023 and has been given the go-ahead once again despite Ponting’s urgings to stick with Konstas.

“I wouldn’t be moving Konstas,” Ponting said this week.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for this Australian team to blood these young blokes, especially on a tour like this to Sri Lanka, which is so different, it’s going be so foreign to probably anything that he’s ever done before in his life.”

Travis Head is opening instead of Sam Konstas. Photos: AFP

The make-up of the Australian team won’t be finalised until match day, with the wicket set to be a factor, but Head will open.

Young gun Konstas surely would have liked an extended run as opener to establish himself in that role.

Konstas may retain a place lower down the order, with Smith somewhat cagey in his pre-match press conference.

“Trav will go to the top, outside of that I think it will be pretty stable,” Smith told reporters prior to Australia’s final pre-Test training session.

“I don’t see it being a great deal of change from that.

“The selectors liked what they saw in India when he (Head) had that opportunity.

“He got after the new ball, scored quickly and put the pressure on them straight away so I guess similar thinking here.”

Konstas is now in doubt for the first Test. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Speaking before training on Monday, Head said the best thing for Australia to win could demand constant change and he was up for it.

“What you’re trying to do is line it up to be flexible to help win a Test match,” Head said in Galle.

“So if that means being more flexible on day one, what’s not to say in the second innings when it does turn and gets extreme that the order may change.

“It’s been a topic of conversation the last little bit in this team.

“Why doesn’t the order change, why can’t we be flexible where can we win a Test match?

“What moves, how can we be brave?

“I think people are open to it and the game’s evolving.

Head will return to open the batting. Picture: Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP

“I don’t think anyone would have seen Sam Konstas lapping in the first session of a Test match (in his Boxing Day debut), so why not see where we can make jumps and leads and where can we perhaps get an advantage.

“And if that’s using people in different positions – that’s not traditionally done a hell of a lot … we haven’t done it yet, but does this tour lend itself to that?

“I think this team’s experienced enough to be in a great position where players would be open to that if it needed to be.”

Australia last played in Sri Lanka in 2022 when the series ended 1-1, with both matches also played in Galle.

Originally published as Travis Head to replace Sam Konstas as opener against Sri Lanka