‘No guarantees in cricket’ - Khawaja's advice for McSweeney on maiden Test call-up
Usman Khawaja believes the 25-year-old newcomer has the goods to handle the scrutiny and the pressure of Test cricket.
Among the first time entrants in Australia’s Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is Nathan McSqueeny, who is set to be slotted in as the opener for the five-Test series against India.
Australia’s mainstay Test opener Usman Khawaja has expressed belief that the young all-rounder is ready to take up the job left for grabs after David Warner’s retirement and that he mustn't look to do anything differently than he has at the domestic level.
WATCH: Usman Khawaja in awe of the current Australian team
Usman Khawaja in awe of the current Australian team
"There's no guarantees in cricket...but he doesn't have to do anything different," Khawaja said.
"Just repeat the process. He's been able to handle the pressure at Shield level. When you look at his demeanour, the way he plays, you do kind of feel over a longer period of time he'll be able to handle the scrutiny, the pressure of Test cricket," he added.
Having featured in 34 first-class games, McSweeney has 2252 runs to his name at an average of 34.16. His promotion to the senior team comes on the back of an impressive couple of outings in the Sheffield Shield, and a match-winning knock against India-A in the first of two Tests.
Khawaja also laughed off the subject of McSweeney’s strike rate (41.92) being lower than his in Tests (48.3), giving the newcomer a glowing review.
"I don't know where this myth started that you need someone to score really fast to do well. You've got five days to do it. I don't know why you need to score fast,” the opener said.
"Opening's as much about scoring runs as it is about being able to absorb. Davey was special, he could score runs while absorbing but he didn't do it (score fast) every time. He was consistent, out there and setting a platform, and Nathan does that very well," he added.