The conversations with selectors are promising but Test batters are doing pretty impressive things, Peter Handscomb opens up on India tour chances
Peter Handscomb has admitted he can only make it to the Australian squad by getting a huge tally of runs ahead of their visits to the subcontinent next year given how the current Test batters have been performing. He further talked about his role as a wicketkeeper and how it can give him the edge.
Following a busy Test summer, Australia are all set to head to India next year on a tour of the subcontinent in the run-up to the World Test Championship final with both places in the title clash still at stake. While the team has been in good form of late, winning two of its last three Test series and currently leading the West Indies 1-0 with a game to go, the equation is expected to be completely different in the hotbed of spin bowling. The Men in Blue have not lost a Test series at home since 2012/13 and in fact, have even managed to trump the Australians in their own backyard on their last two adventures.
To add to their misery, the Kangaroos' struggles against spin bowling were evident in their latest tour of Sri Lanka where they could only manage a 1-1 draw. The failure has thus opened up an opportunity for veteran Peter Handscomb to return to the mix, given his label as Australia's premier spin specialist.
"I'm thereabouts ... so the conversations (with Test selectors) are promising," the Victoria captain was quoted as saying by 'The West Australian'.
Handscomb is currently the lead run-getter of the Sheffield Shield with 571 runs in five matches at an average of 81.57. He stole headlines earlier in the year with a stunning 281* against West Australia, having come on the back of an impressive century against South Australia as well. The 31-year-old has since racked up another half-century in the competition and was also a part of the Prime Minister's XI against the West Indies where he again showed up with twin half-centuries.
However, Handscomb's inclusion will have to come at the cost of Head, who recently scored a flamboyant 99 against the Caribbean outfit in Perth and has been in excellent form across formats even though he failed to rack up the runs on previous tours of Asia.
"But you've also got to look at the Test squad as well and there are guys that are in front of me and there are batters doing pretty impressive things. I can score as many runs as I want but there still needs to be a spot at the next level, and at the moment they're playing pretty good cricket," Handscomb admitted.
"All you can do as a batter is force your way in through weight of numbers. I pick up the gloves just to make sure that they also know that I'm still available as a back-up 'keeper, or can take them if need be, That's also an important skill to have in your bag," he concluded.
Australia are scheduled to play three Tests against South Africa in the ongoing summer and will have to wait till March 2023 to next wear the all-whites when they take on India in four Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.