It then came to light hours before the toss of the coin on Wednesday afternoon that selectors have made the call to hand Josh Inglis his Test debut — at Konstas’ expense. Inglis has been called in to bat in the middle order and it is a decision that Bharat Sundaresan suggested had been the plan all week.

Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas as Usman Khawaja's opening partner in the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle on Wednesday, Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith said on the eve of the match.

Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas at the top of Australia’s batting order for the first Sri Lanka Test despite the teenager’s heroics in the triumphant India series. Captain Steve Smith would not rule out finding a place for Konstas elsewhere in the order for the match that begins in Galle on Wednesday, with a vacancy now open at No.5.