New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd, who is also a mentor of Sam Konstas, has praised the young Australian opener's attacking play in Tests, saying his style will see him stay in the team for a long time.
Konstas made his Test debut for Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, replacing Nathan McSweeney, in the Boxing Day Test against India, scoring 60 off 65 balls, scooping Jasprit Bumrah for fun in the early passage of play, leaving everyone intrigued.
Though Bumrah took him out in the second innings, Konstas has left everyone in Australia excited about the player he can be in the future.
"I wouldn't use the word arrogance to describe him in anyway shape or form. I guess Sam's taken the really aggressive route and was to play some shots that we would call T20 cricket but that was his form of problem-solving in the moment," Shipperd said on SEN Mornings.
Konstas drew criticism for his batting style after being dismissed cheaply in the next three innings, but Shipperd feels he will be around for a long time in the red-ball format.
"It might be chaotic by most people's standards, but I think with time we. will add the craftsmanship to that particular approach. We've started a player off…. and he's gonna be around for a long time," he said.
The 19-year-old opener found himself in an on-field brawl with India star Virat Kohli during a very absorbing session of play when Konstas was in the process of scoring runs and Kohli ran into the youngster between overs.
Kohli, though, was penalized 20 per cent of his match fee besides being handed over one demerit point by the International Cricket Council for his breach of Level 1 of its Code of Conduct.
Shipperd, who used to coach Konstas in Sheffield Shield cricket, was unsparing in words about the whole episode and was of the view that "it was a totally disgraceful act and should have been punished much, much more harshly than it was".
In Sydney Test, on the last ball of day one's play, Indian players give him a send-off as his skipper Bumrah gazes at him after he picked the wicket of Usman Khawaja.
Konstas batted with the fiery Indian pacer, which visibly rattled the visitors. Bumrah and his colleagues retaliated in an aggressive manner, crowding the teenager after Bumrah sent back Khawaja.
"He or the situation got under the skin of Jasprit, and the team response was super aggressive towards him. I think he'll walk through that and look forward to his next opportunity in Sri Lanka," Shipperd concluded.
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