NEW DELHI: Opener Nathan McSweeney was dropped from Australia’s squad for the fourth Test against India on Friday, with teenager Sam Konstas getting his first call-up.
McSweeney had played in all three Tests so far after winning the race to replace the retired David Warner at the top of the order alongside Usman Khawaja.
But the 25-year-old, who is not a specialist opener, struggled to assert himself, particularly against Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
7NEWS Adelaide shared a clip on their official X handle of McSweeney opening up on axing by the George Bailey-led selection committee from the Australian Test squad.
McSweeney says in the clip, “Devastated. I get the dream come true and then didn’t quite work out the way I wanted.”
The 25-year-old McSweeney, who was thrust into the role of Test opener and had not opened at first-class level before this season, was dismissed by Bumrah four out of six times in the series.
McSweeney leaves with an average of 14.40 from three Tests, with the crucial 39 in Adelaide as his highest, but he hasn’t been the only one struggling in the top order across both teams.
The two sides are locked at 1-1 in the five-Test series with India needing one more win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
