Don’t think Josh Inglis would be opening for Australia in BGT 2024-25: George Bailey
One of the major talking points heading into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025 has been regarding Usman Khawaja’s potential opening partner as Steve Smith is set to return to his favourite spot of No. 4 in the batting order. While Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft are the three prime contenders to take the role, calls of having Josh Inglis opening the batting have also emerged recently.
The wicketkeeper-batter has been in stunning form in the ongoing Sheffield Shield, having amassed four tons from seven outings. Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, lauded his performances in domestic cricket but ruled out the possibility of the 29-year-old partnering Khawaja in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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“Not in the short-term. I don’t think that he’s someone we would be looking to place at the top of the order. There’s no doubt that his form is really fantastic at the moment and the ability to jump back into domestic cricket and dominate has been fantastic,” Bailey told the reporters on Monday.
The former Australia captain said that Inglis’ performances could be rewarded in future series but certainly not against India this summer. “If the right opportunity opened up throughout the summer, in the spots where we think he’s most capable of performing, I think he’d be firmly in that conversation as well.”
We’re looking for performance: George Bailey
Bailey said that the player’s consistency is going to be an important factor while selecting the opener for the five-match Test series against India.
“We’ve got three players who open the batting for their state and one player who bats at three. We’re looking for performance. The standard of cricket is pretty high, so that’s always a great opportunity seeing how players interact in a different team to what they’re used to,” Bailey stated.
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Konstas, Harris, and Bancroft will get opportunities to showcase their skills and form during the upcoming Australia A matches against India A.